^° ML
978.3 ^' ^^
R56h
V.2
1142444 ,
OENEIALOGY COLLECTlOt^
XI
3 1833 01066 7225
HISTORY OF -^^^'^^^
SOUTH DAKOTA
BY
DOANE ROBINSON
TOGETHER WITH
PERSONAL MENTION OF CITIZENS OF SOUTH DAKOTA
ILLUSTRATED
VOL. II.
INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII~Continued.
1142-144
A
Aaseth, John 991
Abeel, Orlin A 1711
Abel. Edward L 1319
Abell, Gabriel W 1585
Abraham, Alfred 1453
Abt, Frank 974
Adams, Francis D 1461
Adams, F. J 1433
Adams, John E 1291
Adams, J. F 1432
Adams, John Q 1535
Aisenbrey, Christian 1221
Alder, Alfred 989
Aldrich, Alva N 1600
Alexander, Frank 1748
Alexander, Rudolph 1060
Allen, Charles F 1443
Allen, Charles H 1288
Amundson, Martin 1853
Anderson, C. J 1891
Anderson, Henry 1298
Anderson, John Q 1475
Andrews, Nels C 1334
Andrews, Wellington J 970
Andrus, Henry C 1232
Apiin, Frank P 1708
Archambean, Lizziam 1150
Arneson, A. L 1865
Arthur, John W 1791
Ash, B. C 1849
Ash, Henry C 1718
Atkinson, Samuel E 1415
Auld, Oliver P 1107
Austin, Horace J 1088
Austin, Mrs. Rachel M. R...1089
Avant. J. Franklin 1547
Ayres, George V 1313
Ayres, Thomas H 1421
B
Baade, Christian 1874
Babcock, Howard 1172
Babcock, Thornton N 1114
Bach, Christen J 1480
Baer. Burnace W 1756
Baggaley, John 1369
Bailey, Charles 1819
Bailey. Dana R 1371
Bailey, George M 1649
Bailey, Joseph M 1821
Baird. John C 1159
Baldridge, John 1597
Baldwin. D. D 1548
Bale, George B 1520
Barbier, Charles P 1102
Barkley, J. J 1842
Barlow, Edmund A 1509
Barnhart, M. B 1322
Barrett, C. Boyd 1282
Barrow, C. H 1902
Barth, Peter 1214
Bartlett, Clarence A 1399
Bartow, Julius D 1519
Basford, Orville S 1690
Baskerville, Marwood R 1120
Baskin. James H 1079
Bassett, John C 1479
Bayne, William H 1202
beach. John N 1722
Bean. John S 1003
Beatch, George 1163
Beatty. John J 1556
Beck. Elias S 1244
Beem, Isaac 1731
Beem, Joseph 1634
Beeman, Charles L 1015
Belding. John P 1293
Bell, John 1661
Bennett, David 1523
Bennett, Granville G 1484
Berdahl, Anfln J 972
B?re, Otto C 953
Bibelheimer. John 1790
Biddle, William P 1843
Biernatzki, Albert C 1096
Biggins, Matthew 1816
Billinghurst, Charles B 1446
Billion, Thomas J., M. D 1454
Bingham, George 1384
Bird, William 1406
Bischoff, Herman 1359
Black, Samuel C 1653
Blackstone, Richard 1023
Blair, James C 1795
Blair. Thomas C 1716
Blake, Charles A 1777
Bliss, George W.. M. D 1572
Bobb, Earl V., M. D 971
Bockler, John H 1203
Bolles, George 1453
Bonham, Willis H 1273
Bonner, John R 1785
Bonniwell. Phillip M 1723
Boorman, W. C 1890
Bottum, Joseph H 1804
Bottum, Roswell 1476
Boucher, Lyman T 1745
Boundey, J. E 1895
Bouska. Very Rev. Em-
manuel A 1213
Bowen. Wheeler S 1747
Bowler, John A 1188
Bowler, Michael F 1388
Bowman, Adelbert H., M. D.1361
Boyce, J. W 1900
Braatz, Carl 1717
Brakke, Nels J 990
Brandon, Henry 1231
Brandt. Claus 1240
Bras. Harry L 1171
Bratrud, Christen C 1192
Breed, George N 1437
Bridges, Henry 1842
Briggs, George C 1250
Briggs. Melvelle B 1763
Britzins. Jacob 1858
Brockman, N. J 1092
Brooks. John H 1589
Brown, Charles A., M. D 1001
Brown, Charles W 1635
Brown. Daniel 1354
INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.
Brown, Hugh L
.1634
Chladek, Frank
.1832
Curtis, George W
...1270
Brown, John
.1846
Christensen, Lars C
.1048
Curtis, Hiram H
...1687
Brown, James M
.1785
Clagett, Moses H., M. D...
.1225
Cuthbert, Frederic T
...1013
Brown, Richard F., M. D.
.1235
Clark, Arthur E
.1779
Bruell, William F
.1562
Clark, James B
.1416
D
Bruner, Vincent
.1843
Clark, S, Wesley
.1744
Buck, Edwin E
.1567
Clark, William T
.1390
Dahlenburg, Frederick . .
...1346
Buckingham, George
.1643
Clarke, George A
.1405
Dale, William T
...1062
Buechler, C
.1222
Clarke, William R
.1228
Daley, Rev. Charles M. . .
...1494
Buffaloe, Alonzo J., M. D.
Bullock, James L
Dana, Ruel E
Darling, Andrew D., D. D
...1083
S.1141
.1692
Cleland, Peter C
.1255
Bunning, Rev. Bernard H
.1327
Clough, Alonzo E., M. D. .
.1861
Darling, Floyd C
...1266
Burch, Herbert C. M. D..
.1296
Clough, Solomon
.1103
Daugherty. John F
...1838
Burdick, Frederick A
.1815
.1339
Clyborne, Louis H
Cochrane, Wampler L
.1592
.1277
.. .1284
Burgess, Lyman
Davis, Park
...1350
Burke, Charles H
.1810
Coe, Albert W
.1362
Day, Everett H
...1681
Burleigh Walter A
969
Cole, Burnham W
Coleman, Edwin G
.lg65
.1542
Dean, Edgar
Decker, John J
...1013
...1226
Burnside, George W
.1424
Burt, George K
.1121
Cole, Jacob H
.1205
DeMalignon, Henry R. . .
...1791
Burton, Silas
.1051
Colgan, Arthur J
.1549
Dermody, Rev. Michael.
...1541
Bushell, Thomas J
.1146
Coller, Granville J., M. D.
.1799
Derr, ChalUley H
...1626
Bushfield, John A
.1796
Comstock, John F
.1009
Derr, Chalkley W
...1786
Bushnell, William F. T...
. 969
Conklin, Charles A
.1802
Dewell, Samuel G
...1732
Butterfleld, M. A
.1571
Conklin, Sylvester J
.1411
Dickerson, David
...1613
Butts, C. M
. 961
Connor, John
.1836
Dickey, J. B.. M. D
...1851
Conway, Daniel J
.1484
Dickinson, Stanley B., M.
D.1104
C
Conzett, James
.1864
Dickson, James H
...1074
Cook, Edmund
.1238
Dimock, Warren
...1222
Cabalka, Joseph
.1355
Coons, 0. J
.1860
Dirks, Peter B
...1425
Cahill, John C
.1208
Cooper, Henry T
.1022
Dobsoh, John H
...1320
Cahill, Pierce
Caldwell, Myron H
.1126
.1677
Cooper, Miles M
Cord, George D
.1302
...1763
.1000
Doering, Gotthilf
...1902
.1834
.1478
Cordes, Henry C
Corrigan, William F
.1639
.1510
Dokken, 0. C
Donald, William R
...1439
Campbell, Albert W
...1384
Campbell, B. P
.1138
Cosand, Samuel W
.1419
Donaldson, David W...
... 992
Campbell, Charles T
. 958
Cottle. Frank
.1312
Donnelly, James
... 996
Campbell, Dyer H
.1396
Cotton. Alonzo A.. M. D..
.1378
Doolittle, William T....
...1826
Campbell, James T
Campbell, Malcolm C
1999
...1267
.1365
Black Hills
.1123
Dott, Robert T., M. D. .
...1321
Campbell, Robert P
.1497
Cowdin, Lafayette
.1274
Dougan, Allen D
...1742
Carey, Allen W
.1553
Cowen, E. D., D. D
.1890
Dougherty, Michael J. . .
...1037
Carlin, Douglas
.1764
Coyle, Andrew L., M. D..
. 972
Douglass, James
...1887
Carpenter, Aaron
.1341
Craig, Frank H
.1161
Douglass, Wesley
...1095
Carrigan, Denis
Carroll, John H
1721
Craig, William D
Cramer, Isaac S
1511
Dow Wallace L
...1477
.1611
.1734
Doyle, J. M
...1044
Catlett, Joseph W
.1897
Crane, Col. Frank
.1316
Drake, Frank W
...1035
Cavalier, Louise
.1838
Crary, Charles C
.1724
Dratzman, Joseph
...1839
Cave, Rev. W. A
.1859
Cross, Eugene E
. 963
Dricken, Fred W
...1402
Chamberlain, Harry D
.1462
Cross, Fred J
.1715
Drips, J. V
...1214
Chamberlin. John
.1053
Cross, Philetus N
.1347
Driscoll, Robert H
... 985
Chandler, George T
.1107
Cruickshank, Gregor
.1301
DuFram, Philip
...1795
Chaney, Morris J
.1381
Cull, Loomis S
.1556
Duhamel, Peter
...1647
Chap, Frank
.1875
Cunningham, Michael
.1838
Dunlop, Richard
... 973
Chapman, H. N
..1850
Cunningham, Patrick
.1869
Dunn, Aaron
... 986
Chase, George J
..1242
Curran, Martin E
.1377
Dunn, Christopher G...
...1326
Chase, William H
..1304
Curtin, James
.1652
Dutcher, Paul
...1444
INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.
Dwight, Theodore W 1824
Dwyer, James H 1380
E
Eakin, Charles L 1569
Earl, Duncan 1155
Eastman, David 1353
Easton, Carroll F 1344
Egeland, William 1204
Elder. William S 1363
Ellerman, John N 1787
Ellis. William T 1100
Elsom. Joseph 1768
Erlandson, C. A 996
Everhard, William H., M. D.1697
Everly. Louis 1716
Everson, Ole W 1254
Ewert, Adolph W 1498
Ewing, James 1209
Exon, James H 1084
F
Fagan. John 998
Fairbanks, David L 1736
Farley. Luman B 966
Fassett. Charles S 1899
Faust, Emil 978
Fee, James 1837
Feeney, Andrew 1787
Feeney, Michael 1892
Feige, E. W., M. D 1495
Feinler. Rev. Franz J 1681
Felker. M. C. M. D 1874.
Fenelon, John J 1758
Perry, Henry L 1342
Feyder, Charles 1567
Field, Fredell E., D. D. S...1517
Fierek, Rev. Edward M 1145
Finch. Nelson L 1201
Firey, John H 1623
Fish, Adrian L 1072
Fisk, Robert B 1872
Fitch, Seymour N 1725
Fitch, Thomas 1127
Fleeger, Lewis L 1685
Fleischer, Christian C, D.
D. S 1187
Flynn, Rt. Rev. Thomas A. .1580
Foglesong, George D 1494
Foley, Andrew P 959
Folkhard, John J 1305
Folkstad,, Charles L 1130
Poncanon. Charles B 1210
Forest, Samuel E 1379
Foss, L. William 1137
Fos?um. Albert W.. D. D. S. .1262
Fossum, Andrew C 1479
Fowler, Elijah P 1069
Fowler, James W 1318
Fowler, Oshea A 1233
Fox, Marion L 1574
Franklin. Harris 1184
Fraser. Charles H 1889
Frazee, John S., A. M., B. D.1528
Frease. Milton 1633
Freeman, John W 980
Freidel, Henry 1875
French, Rev. Calvin H., A.
M., D. D 1760
Frier, Herman 1333
Fry, Joel 1536
Fry, William C 1842
Fulford, George H.. M. D.. . .1196
Fuller, Howard G 1011
Fullerton, Thomas 1707
Fulton, Rutherford H 1217
Fylpaa, John A 1770
G
Gaff y, Loring E 1529
Gage, Luther E 1030
Gallagher, Joseph P 1565
Gamm, Edward C 1139
Gannon, Frank B 1469
Garey, Herman H 1356
Gardner Brothers 1033
Gardner, Milton D 1016
Garvey, Thomas 1870
Gerdes. Otto H.. M. D 1664
Getty, Daniel B 1464
Geyer, L M 1880
Giddings, Calvin M 1260
Giese, Augustus C 1115
Gifford, A. James, M. D 1179
Gifford. Oscar S 1010
Gilhertson, Olaf 1686
Girton, William W 1578
Goddard, Thomas M 1719
Goff, Joel W., A. M 1063
Goldsmith, Delmont 1031
Goodner, Ivan W 1766
Goodrich, Frank D 1532
Goodwin, James 1866
Gordon, David S 1164
Gordon, Robert 1163
Graber. Joseph P 1194
Graham, Rev. William 1..
D. D 1832
Grantz, Otto P. T 1291
Grattan, Orlando T 1607
Gray, John 1766,
Graybill, Washington C ISOs"
Green, Ansel T 1285
Gregory, Thomas 1025
Grier, Thomas J 1248
Griffee, Abraham D 1413
Griffin, Fred de K 1410
Griggs, Clifton C 1839
Gross, Cheney C, M. D 1808
Gross, Evan F 1806
Gross, John 1227
Gross, Philip A 1386
Grover, George 1491
Grue, Crist 1788
Guenthner, Christoph 1210
Gunderson, Carl J 1206
Gunkle, Fred W 1496
Guptill, Seymour A 1017
Gyllenhammar, Frithiop
N. H 1132
H
Haar. Frederick 1219
Hacesky, Joseph 1874
Hahn, H. W 1504
Haines. Moses 1275
Hall, James 1694
Hall, J. L 1610
Hall. Philo 1485
Hall, William H 1308
Halladay, J. F 1429
Halley, James 1643
Hamaker, J. E 1103
Hamilton, George J 1654
Hammerquist, Peter A 1641
Hanschka, Edward O 1660
Hansen, Niels E 1436
Hansen, Torkel 1538
Hanson, Olaus L 1156
Hanstein, H. H., M. D 9S0
Hanten. John B 955
Hare, Joseph 1398
Hare. Rt. Rev. William H. .1465
Harrington, Jerry T 1667
Harris, Charles N •. . . .1289
Harris, John L., M. D 1714
Harris, T. J 1198
Harris, Martin 1151
Harrison. Charles M 1666
Hart. John S 1259
Hart, Thomas B 1026
Hartgering, James 1024
Hartly, Hugh 1834
Hartmann, Christian 1337
INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.
Harvey, Albert S 1351
Haskar, Henry 1052
Hatch, Ira A 1734
Haugen, Nels 1678
Hawkins, J. A 18G5
Hawkins, John R., M. D 1750
Hawkins, Robert C 1748
Hayward, Clarence E 1896
Hazel, C. J 1456
Hazeltine. Edward 1852 j
Headley. John S 1218 I
Healey, Patrick 1247
Heath. Henry H 1249
Hedger, Samuel C 1474
Hegeman Family 1398
Hegeman, Peter J 1489
Heidegger. Rev. James J 1708
Heintz. Paul 1160
Hejl, Joseph 1029
Helsted, Carl P 962
Hemingway, E. E 1622
Hemmlnger, Edward 1028
Heninger, Martin R 1283
Henneous, A. H 1678
Hepperle. Fred 1813
Herron, Frank G 1166
Herther, Philip H 1733
Hesnard, Theodore 1553
Heston, John W 1628
Hickox, Jay R 1701
Higgins, Rev. J. R 1887
Hinman, Delatus 1041
Hinseth, Stengrim 1332
Hill, Ira C 1172
Hill, Robert, M. D 1776
Hill, W. S 1093
Hoard. John G 1714
Hoattum, Henry 1865
Hoese, William 1325
Hoffman, George H 1771
Hokenstad, Ole 1837
Holbrook, Dwight G 1751
Holcomb, Fred 1638
Holcomb, Algernon L 1646
Holcomb, Eugene 1866
Holden, R. H 1434
Holleman, William 1021
Holman, John 1173 i
Holmes, Albe 1751 j
Holmes, Charles P 1470
Holmes, Conrad L 1817
Holmgren, H., M. D 1893
Holt, William H 1195
Holter, Jacob E 1034
Hoiter, Olaus i^ 1036
Hoover, Ben P 1514
Hopkins, George S 1702
Hopkins, James G 1397
Hopkins. Roy L 1807
Hoskin, Clinton D 1111
Hove, John 964
Howard, Charles A 1455
Howard. Charles K 1328
Howard, Samuel M 1712
Howell, Samuel P 1789
Hoy. Samuel A 1663
Huber. Joseph E 1050
Hudson, E. E 1855
Huff. Willard H 1241
Hughes, Richard B 1658
Hulseman. John F., Jr 1518
Hunt, Daniel N 1728
Hunt, John E 1644
Hunt. George C 1637
Hunt, Washington J 1674
Huntington, Eugene 1487
Huss. Frank 1882
Hutchinson, George S 1759
I
Ingalls, J. L 1860
Ingersoll. A. H 1128
Ingerson. Jesse B 1033
Inman, Darwin M 1693
Isaak, Salomon 1782
Irwin, Eugene F 1368
J
Jackson, Franklin T 1481
Jackson, George S 1668
Jackson, John H 1474
Jacobs, Fred 1165
Jancik, John 1039
Jarvis, George J 1756
Jennings, Rudolph D., M. D.1584
Jewett, Charles A 1483
Johnson, Alexander C 1489
Johnson, C. A 1878
Johnson, Charles E 1331
Johnson, George F 1662
Johnson, John 1527
Johnson, Martin H 1304
Johnson, P. S 1897
Johnson, Peter W 1877
Johnston, James M 1532
Johnston, James W 1802
Johnston. William H 1119
Jolley, John L 1371
Jolly, Joseph 1644
Jones, Byron P 1106
Jones, Daniel D 1253
Jones, Frederick A 1886
Jones, Harry E 1207
Jones, Henry M 1191
Jones, Rev. Hugh H 1774
Jones. James G 1108
Jones. Morgan E 1251
Jones. Richard R.. M. D 1590
Jones, Stephen V 1587
Jones, Thomas 1888
Jones, William 1885
Judson, Havilah C 1561
Jumper, Samuel H. 1467
K
Kaucher, Samuel 1870
Kean, John T 1840
Keeling, Charles M., M. D..1078
Kehm, Jacob L 1583
Keim, John 1783
Keith, Hosmer H 1177
Keith, I. A 1601
Keliher, Maurice 1642
Kelley, Charles A 1792
Kenaston, Hampton R.. M.
D 1783
Kennedy, Casper 1234
Kennedy, Charles B 1581
Kerr, Robert F 1620
Kiley, J. W 1854
King, Mrs. Atlanta H 1550
King, Charles C 1136
King, John H 1117
King, John H 1490
King, Patrick 1839
Kingsbery, Ira C 1671
Kingsbury, Edgar J 1826
Kingsbury, Rev. Lucius 1816
Kingsbury, Walter R 1518
Kirsch, Nick 1112
Kiser, James A 1665
Klindt, Henry 1215
Knickerbocker, George C...1608
Koch, Herman 1836
Koepsel, William 1054
Kohler, Alfred 1037
Korstad, Hans H 1445
Kozak, Frank 1869
Kreber, Emil 1243
Kribs, P. D 1201
Kroeger, Rev. William, M. D.1856
Krum, George W 1733
Kubler, Joseph 1723
Kutnewsky, John K., M. D. .1511
Kuhns. Albert J 1246
INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.
L
Lund, John H
..1397
McLaughlin, James H....
,1624
Lundin, Andrew H
..1272
McLeod, Charles J
.1480
Lacey. Rev. Ulysses G...
..1199
Lundquist, D. E. A
.. 988
McMillan, Andrew P
.1632
LaCraft, Orator H
..1533
Lvatos, Frank
..1869
McNulty, Frank
.1137
LaDick, Edward
..1867
Lynum, Peter
..1569
McQuillen, James
.1271
Lamb, D. L. P
..1002
Lyon, Leander D
.. 960
McVay, John C
.1188
Lampert, J. George
..1405
Lyons, R. F
..1890
Meacham, H. T
.1805
I.andmann, Paul
..1079
Meier, John
.1045
Lane. Thomas W
..1574
M
Mentch, George W
.1615
Lane, Warren D
. .1278
Mentele, Louise M
.1857
Lange, Moritz A
..1374
Maeh, Veucel
..1867
Merager, Ole S., M. D
.1901
LaPlante, Louis
..1704
Madden. James
..1591
Merrill, Charles W., B. S.
. 982
Madill, Alexander
..1568
Mesick, Oliver E
.1414
Larson, Methias
..1877
Madsen, Truels
..1400
Metcalf, Homer A
.1138
Lashley. Emory C
..1268
Mallery, John E
..1375
Mettler, Chrlstoph
.1224
Lattin, George W
..1602
Mansheim, Henry
..1844
Meyer, William
.1299
Laughlin, John W
..1447
Mariner, Frank C
,.1653
Meyers, Solomon D
.1839
Laughlin, Lemuel B
..1512
March, Douglas W
..1502
Michaels, John
. 958
Laurin. Peter
..1298
Martin, Ebeu W
..1575
Milburn, J. A. M. D
.1863
Law, Thomas J
..1526
Martin, Ezra
..1657
Miles, Leroy D
.1828
Lawrence, Aubrey
..1435
Martin, John W
.. 976
Miller, George W
.1588
Lawson, James M
..1467
Martin, U H
..1891
Miller, James J
.1868
Lawver, J. C, M. D
..1101
Martin, Patrick
..1878
Miller, Joseph C
. 956
Leandreaux, Alexander , .
..1737
Martin, Samuel H
..1309
Millett, Charles L
.1430
Leaning, C. W
.. 998
Martin, William H
..1186
Milligan, Albert F
.1478
LeBlond, Horace W
..1038
Marvick, Andrew
..1131
Miner, Ephraim
.1903
LeCocq, Prank, Jr
..1710
Mason, Albert
..1706
Mitchell, Benjamin M....
.1406
LeCount, Wallace S
..1198
Mason, Walter F
..1290
mtchell, George T
.1121
LeMay, John H
..1060
Masters, George "E
..1097
Mitchell, Thomas
.1020
Lemmon, Thomas P
..1529
Mathews, Hubert B
..1613
Mitchell, W. S
.1848
Lennan. Charles E
..1735
Mathieson, Richard W. . . .
..1401
Mix, Frederic' A
.1684
Leonard, Joseph P
..1116
Mattison, Fay
..1876
Monfore, Elmer W
.1081
LePlante, Alexander
..1048
Maupin, Harry H
..1348
Monson, Ellas
,1129
Levlnger, Ludwig
..1505
Mawhiney, John J
..1843
Montgomery, W. L
.1900
Ijevinger, Moriz
..1884
May, Ernest
..1264
Moody, James C
.1364
Lewis, Martin J
..1018
Maytum, Wellington J., M.
D.1183
Moore, David
.1426
Liddle, Charles T
.,1598
McArthur, Charles A
..1477
Moore, Joseph B
.1499
..1599
..1818
Lien, Burre H
McCarthy, J. C
..1861
Moosdorf, Ernest A
.1814
Lien, Jonas H
..1822
McCaughey, John J
..1387
Morehouse, George
.1544
Lincoln, Isaac
..1216
McClure, Pattison F
..1500
Morgan, William H
.1261
Lindley, S. M
..1849
McCollum, Mrs. Phoebe L
..1502
Moriarty, Maurice
.1512
Lindquist, A. W
..1176
McCormack, Samuel
..1847
Morris, Frank A
.1774
Link, Rev. Lawrence
.. 992
McCoy, James H
..1276
Morris, Henry S
.1237
Linn, Arthur
..1422
McCrossan, Bernard C.,.
..1488
Morris, Silas E
.1560
Lilly, William J
..1410
McDonald, Charles W....
..1156
Morris, William A
.14.58
Locke, Clayton W., M. D.
.. 967
McDougall, John E
..1382
Morse, James W
.1814
Lockwood, Prank B
..1564
McDowell, Robert B
..1493
Moscrip, Edward
.1178
Long, T. B
..1887
McGaan, William
..1452
Mulcahy, M. Vincent, M. D
.1369
Longstaff, John
..1778
McGee, Levi
..1543
Muller, Henry A
.1901
Lord, L. K
..1379
McGillivray, Duncan A...
..1677
Munro, John A
. 968
Lostutter. L. L
..1605
Mcintosh, Robert L
..1878
Murdy, Robert L., M. D. .
.1200
Loveland, Thomas Q
..1630
McKeever, Patrick W,,..
..1145
Murphy, Edward J
.1205
Lowe, Wiley V
..1566
McKibben, Joseph A
..1896
Murphy, Francis M
.1280
Lum, Charles A
..1393
McKinney, Charles E
..1821
Murphy, Isaac
.1883
Lucas, Sherman P
..1800
McLane, J. E
.1861
Murphy, John F
.1404
INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.
Murray, William 1 1892
Mussman, Henry C 1360
N
Nash. Newman C Kill
Natwick, Herman H 1230
Nedved, Joseph J 1030
Nelson, James C 1029
Newbanks, Noah 1648
Nichols, Rev. D. B 1046
Nichols, Ira L 1375
Nielsen, Ole 1347
Nikodin, Joseph I860
Nikodyn, Frank 1872
Noble, Henry 1267
Noble. H. B.. M. D I486
Noble, William 1 1537
Norby, A. J 1236
Norton, Charles L 1825
Notmeyer, William C 1373
Notson, Rev. Gary T 1486
Null, Thomas H 1698
O
Oakes, James A 1893
Oaks. Herbert D 1565
O'Brien, William S 1366
O'Flaherty, Rev. C. B 1695
O'Gorman. Rt. Rev. Thomas. 1133
Oldham, Charles T 1868
O'Leary, Daniel 1208
Oleson, Andrew H 1666
Oliver, Benjamin N 1561
Oliver, Stephen 1834
Olwin, Anthony H 1287
O'Neil, Patrick H 1803
Orstad, Henry 1864
Osbon, O. M 1354
Ostrander, George C 1113
O'Toole, Laurence J 1115
Overby, Samuel 1773
Oviatt, Samuel W 1899
Owens, Mrs. Delia H 1563
Owens, Matthew 1420
P
Packard, Harlan P 1563
Paine, George T 1551
Palmer, George W.\ 1502
Palmer, W. L 1349
Papik, Joseph 1875
Parker, Joel W 1392
Parker, William H 1354
Parliman, Edwin 1881
Parliman. Ralph W 1882
Parmley, Russell G 1463
Parr. George D., D. D. S 1769
Parrott, J. H 1848
Parrott. Richard G 1007
Paterson, David 1054
Pease, Addison H 1041
Pease, Lucius A 1676
Pederson, Rasmus 1039
Peek, Lewis V 1197
Peever, T. H 1140
Peirce, Henry A 1204
Pendar. Oliver S 1192
Perkins, Henry E 1294
Perley. George A 1157
Perry, DeLoss 1850
Perry, George S 1263
Person, Robert S 1180
Peterka, Joseph 1356
Peterson, Jans P 1870
Peterson, Nels H 1471
Peterson, Rasmus 1844
Peterson. Svenning 1835
Petterson, Edgar B 1875
Pettigrew. George A., M. D. .1019
Petrik, Joseph M 1216
Pfatlzgraff, Philip 1181
Phelps, Dudley C 1495
Phelps, Harry E 1382
Phelps, Henry E 1019
Phelps, John A 1675
Philip, James 1824
Phillips, David 1523
Phillips, Josiah L., M. D 1516
Phillips, Thomas B 1S2S
Philp. Peter 1118
Pickler, Mrs. Alice M. A 1618
Pickler, John A 1616
Pierce, Charles F 1833
Pierce, P. L 1879
Pierson, Josiah A 1835
Pilcher, Joseph E 1727
Pinsonnault, Charles P 1269
Piatt, James E 1531
Plunkett, Matt 1027
Pond, James H 1257
Ponsford. Joseph 1032
Pope, Nathaniel 1407
'Porter, Clement P 1134
Porter, John M 1863
Potter, John T 1403
Power, Charles 1352
Pratt, James L 1520
Price, John J 1061
Printup, David L 1385
Pryce, Orville U 1701
Pyle, John L 1672
Q
Quilty, Rev. William F 1135
Quinn, Michael 1645
R
Radway. Edwin M 1871
Ramsdell, William H 1535
Randall, Charles A 1273
Ransom. Albert W 1496
Rasmusson, Peter 1541
Read, Abram L 1270
Reddick. John E 1554
Reed. John Z 1894
Reed, Thomas 1603
Rees, John J 1391
Reilly. J. T 1835
Reinholt, Peter C 1841
Resner, Jacob P 1070
Rice. Benjamin H 1258
Rice, Harvey J 1775
Rice, William G 1670
Richards, Richard 1576
Rickert. J. A 1132
Riley, Fred J 1640
Riley, James 956
Ring. Eugene C 1757
Ringsrud, Amund 1691
Ripperda, Benjamin 1858
Ritter, Frederick 1165
Rix, Fred C 1047
Rix, George S 1040
Robb, John M 1762
Roberts, A. C 1894
Roberts, Robert D 1252
Robertson, David 1659
Robinson, A. P 1055
Robinson. DeLorme W., M.
D 1482
Robinson, Robert 1700
Robinson. William J 1168
Rock, H. J., M. D 1894
Rodabaugh, Elmer E 1439
Roddle, William H 1469
Roe, Orvin J 1780
Rosenkranz, Henry 1367
Roth, John 1281
Rounseville, R. A 1853
Rowlands. William J 1452
Royhe, Adam 1854
INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.
Russell, John H
...1662
Slowey, Patrick
..1333
Sullivan, David P., M. D...
.1505
Russell. Samuel W
...1449
Smith, Albert
..1847
Sumner, Gaylord E
.1709
Ryan. Francis W
...1797
Smith, Carey W
..1619
Sutter, John B
.1307
Ryburn, William L
...1086
Smith, Daniel H
..1473
Swartz, Orlando P
.1049
Smith, Frank P., M. D...
..1011
Sweeney, Thomas
.1632
S
Smith, Ira J
..1018
Swenson, Die S
. 967
Smith, Richard L
..1149
Syverson, Emil A
.1525
Sanford, John H
...1073
Smythe, Homer S
. . 1530
Sawyer, John F
...1457
Snow, George W
..1793
T
Schaetzel, Jacob, Jr
...1147
Snyder, Charles W
..1059
Schatfer, Frank J
...1841
Solberg, Halvor C
..1649
Talsma, Rein
.1343
Schamber. Fred W
...1754
Solberg, James
..1594
Taubman, T. W
1867
Schamber, Philip
...1845
Solem, Berns J
..1896
Taylor, Morrison A., M. D.
.1099
Scherer, John
. . .124.3
Somers, Herbert W
..1647
Taylor, Thomas H
.1497
Schlachter, Nicholas J..
...1412
Somers, R. H
..1506
Teed, T. S
.1471
Schmidt, E. R
...1378
Soper. E. B., Jr
..1900
Tenneson. Alfred
.1206
Schmidt. Isaac
...1338
Spackman, Harry L
..1175
Thayer, Horace E
.1006
Schmierer, John, Jr
... 997
Spafford, Fred A., M. D. .
..1901
Thielman, Vale P
.1573
Schnaidt, Jacob
....995
Spargo, .John A
.. 983
Thomas, D. C
.1862
Schneider, Lewis V
...1094
Sparling, John E
..1418
Thompson, Charles K
.1153
Spaulding, Justin L
..1775
Thompson, Elisha K
.1162
Schoof, William
...1492
Spitler, Zechariah
..1481
Thompson, Frank P
.1262
Schoonmaker, Francis H.
Springer, Edward H
..1306
Thompson, John R., M. D.
.1656
D
...1596
Spurrell, George
..1167
Thompson, Orville W
.1427
Schultz, John W
...Ubo
Stainbrook, Isaac
...976
Thompson, T. J
.1862
Schwarzwald, Samuel . . .
...1269
Stanage, James
..1351
Thompson. Thomas W
.1310
Scollard, John
...1275
Stareher, Edwin M
..1417
Thornby, William J
.1357
Seaman. Fred A
...1776
Stearns, Royal B
..1056
Thorne, Albion
.1570
Searle. John K
...1265
Stearns. W. F
.. 999
Thorp, Gustavus C
.1389
Sears. Frank
...1552
Stecher, Thomas P.. D. D
..1549
Thorson, Andrew
.1476
Sears, Herman V
...1459
...1312
Steele Albert
984
1014
Secomb, Rev. Charles . . .
Steere, Alton E
..1534
Thronson, John A
.1525
Sedam. Robert T
...1256
Steftens, Albert H., M.
D.,
Throop, Albert E
.1441
Sedgwick, John W
...1711
D. D. S
..1224
Tidrick. Charles D
.1507
Seeley, Charles E
...1043
Stehly. Joseph J
..1765
Tiffany Brothers
.1266
Seymour, Arthur H
...1058
Stenger. Edward
..1726
Tiffany, Fred L
.1749
Shanafelt, Thomas M., D,
D.1482
Stephens, Charles A
..1886
Tiffany, 0. M
.1266
Shannon, Junius W
...1122
Stephens, James H
..1846
Tiffany, W. J
.1266
Sharp, William A
...1683
Stevens, E. P
..1893
Todd, Isaac J
.1323
Sheldon, Edward T
...1211
Stevens, Rev. S. H
..1777
Todd, John B. S
989
Sheldon. John H
...1823
Stevens, Thomas A
..1508
Tompkins, Walter P
.1538
Sheldon, Josiah
...1169
Stewart, James A
..1730
Torrence. Chester C
.1071
Shepard, James H
...1394
Stewart, James L., M. D.
..1335
Toy, Edward C
.1386
Sheridan, John S
...1240
Still, Alfred H
..1685
Tracy, Erwin J
.1193
Sherin, A
...1110
Stillwill, Charles H
..1144
Traverse, Barney
.1902
Shei-wood, Carl G
...1539
Stillwill, Charles M
..1142
Treon, Frederick, M. D. . .
.1513
Sherwood, Carter P
...1431
Stokes, D. G
..1593
Trimmer, George M
.1680
Shoun, Vest P
...1559
Stokes, William H
..1111
Truman, Philetus C
.1612
Shouse, Hiram C. M. D
...1376
Stoller, John
..1812
Trygstad, Cornelius
.1902
Sikmann, Bernart
...1349
Stoughton, John C
..1008
Tschetter, Jacob
.1669
Simmons, John C
...1625
Straks, Rev, Henry, A. M
..1448
Tubbs, Newton S
.1741
1738
..1555
Tucker. Henry C
.1005
Sinon, Martin G
...1885
Strunk. Henry
..1895
Turkopp, William H., M. D
.1176
Skilling, Irving R
...1895
Stuart. Thomas M
..1390
Turner. John L
.1076
Skillman Ernest D
993
1460
Turney, Charles F
Tuve. Anthony G
1 Qf.n
Slowey, Bernard
...1332
Sullivan. Boetious H....
..1605
.1451
INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.
Tyler, F. D
...1892
Walker, Delbert T ....
... 953
Williams, Richard
..1655
Tyler, Lawrence S
...1329
Wallis, S. R., M. D
...1889
Williams, William H
..1817
Tyler, Levi S
...1190
Walpole, William
...1317
Williamson, George N
..1279
Tyson, Frederick
...1895
Waltner, Andrew J....
...1227
Williamson, John H
..1577
Walts, Cyrus
...1231
Williamson, Rev. John P.
. .1702
U
Wangsness, Marcus H . .
... 965
Willrodt, Lawrence H...
..1183
Wangsness, Thomas . . .
... 964
Willson, Mordecai, M. D. .
.. 997
Uecker, Carl
...1880
Ward, P. B
...1548
Wilmarth. Albert W
..1696
Ugofsky, Michael
...1236
Warren, C. P
...1898
Wilson, Edward H
..1324
Uhrich, John B
...1179
Warren, Rev. Henry K.,
M.
Wilson, E. S
..1889
Unruh. Rev. Heinrich P
...1336
A., LL.D
...1066
Wilson, John E. C
..1522
Watkins, Samuel P....
...1651
Wilson, James W
..1627
V
Wattson, Bert G
...1515
Wise, Wilson
..1528
Weaver, Archie
... 959
Wipf, Andreas A., M. D.
..1219
Valentine. William B...
...1065
Weaver, John R
...1757
Wipf, Joseph W
..1220
Van De Mark, Prank E.
...1674
Webb, Frank W
...1428
Witte, August C
..1558
Van Metre, Arthur C...
...1408
Weddell, Charles
...1239
Wixson, Eli B
..1720
Varnum, Rev. Joseph B.
...1798
Wolcott, W. B
..1679
Veneeek, John
...1876
Wegener, Joseph
...1876
Wood, Chauncey L
..1557
Vetter, Anton V
...1694
Welsh, Mahlon
...1635
Wood, George A
..1692
Vetter, John S
...1286
Wenke, John G
...1297
Wood, Lewis E
..1458
Vincent, Christopher S.,
M.
Wertherer, Joseph
...1880
Wood, Willis R. . .
..1194
£)
. .1689
West, John E
Westfall, John
...1257
...1851
Woods, James M
Woods, Richard J
..1636
Voll, William
...1844
..1830
Voorhees, Samuel T
...1295
1S8S
Wyman, F. D
Wheelock, E. D
...1152
W
Whitbeck, Almon C...
White, Norman D
...1462
...1042
Y
Wade, N. M., M. D
...1898
Whiting, Charles S....
...1595
Young, Sutton E
..1105
Wagner, Edward E
...1087
Wickheim, P. F
...1091
Wait, Levi D
...1081
Wickre, Hans
...1746
Z
Waldron, Charles W....
...1472
Wicks, Frederick D....
...1075
Waldron, George P....
...1440
Williams, Andrew G...
...1408
Zietlow, JohnL. W
..1752
Walker, Benjamin L. . .
...1148
Williams, Morris M....
...1762
Zitka. Joseph
..1143
CHAPTER Clll-CoNTiNUED.
PERSONAL AIEXTIOX OF CITIZENS OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
OTTO C. BERG, who is now serving his
second term as secretary of state of South Da-
kota, is one of the prominent and influential
citizens of the commonwealth and has here main-
tained his home for more than a score of years,
so that he is entitled to the distinction of being
classed among the pioneers of this favored sec-
tion of our great national domain. Mr. Berg
comes of stanch Norseland lineage and is him-
self a native of Norway, having been born in
Brottum, Ringsager, on the loth of September,
1849, and being a son of Christian T. and
Christence Berg, who are both now dead. The
subject secured his educational training in the
excellent national schools of his native land and
instituted his independent career by securing a
clerkship in a general store at Lillehammer, later
becoming bookkeeper in a wholesale establish-
ment at Drammen. In 1873 he came to America
and located in \\'isconsin, becoming one of the
prominent citizens of Norwalk, Monroe county,
where he served as postmaster and also held the
office of county clerk. In 1883 he came to what
is now the state of South Dakota and took up his
abode in Northville, Spink county, where he en-
gaged in the general merchandise business, build-
ing up a prosperous enterprise in the line. For
six years he served as clerk of the circuit and
county courts, manifesting an active concern in
public affairs and early becoming one of the lead-
ers in the ranks of the Republican party of the
state. In 1900 he was elected secretary of state
and was chosen as his own successor in 1902, so
that he is incumbent of this responsible and exact-
ing office at the time of this writing. He is a lead-
ing Republican and takes a deep interest in the
furtherance of the principles and policies of the
party. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran
church, while Mrs. Berg and family are devoted
members of the Congregational church. Fra-
ternally he is affiliated with Redfield Lodge, No.
34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Red-
field ; Redfield Chapter, No. 20, Royal Arch Ma-
sons ; South Dakota Consistory, Ancient Ac-
cepted Scottish Rite Masons, in Aberdeen; and
Northville Lodge, No. 36. Ancient Order of
United Workmen, at Northville.
On the 1st of May, 1879, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Berg to ]\Iiss Edith O. Rowe,
who was born at Coldspring, Jefferson county,
Wisconsin, being a daughter of David R. Rowe,
an influential citizen of that place. Of this union
have been born three children, Edna Mathea, who
died January 8, 1904, at the age of twenty-three
years ; Christine, who died in infancy, and Paul
B., who is sixteen years of age at the time of
this writing, in 1904.
DELBERT T. WALKER, superintendent of
schools for Codington county and proprietor of
the Watertown Commercial College, is a native
of the Hawkeye state, having been born in Mount
Auburn, Benton county, Iowa, on the 25th of July,
1867, and being a son of George H. and Julia S.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
(Gillette) Walker, the former of whom was
born in England and the latter in the state of
Connecticut, while they were numbered among
the pioneers of Benton county. Iowa, where they
still maintain their home, the father of our sub-
ject having been formerly engaged in farming
and in mercantile pursuits, while for nearly a dec-
ade and a half he has served as postmaster at
Afount Auburn, being one of the honored and
influential citizens of the county. He came to
America in 1843, ''"d was a resident of Iowa at
the time of "the outbreak of the war of the Re-
hellion. He signalized his loyalty to the land of
his adoption, since, in 1862, he enlisted as a pri-
vate in Company G. Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, with which he was in active service
until the close of the war. when he received his
lionorable discharge. He participated in many
of the most notable battles of the great conflict,
having been a member of General Grant's forces
at Chattanooga and Vicksburg. while later he took
part in the Atlanta campaign and accompanied
Sherman on the ever memorable march to the
sea.
The subject, who is the only child of his ]iar-
ents. completed the curriculum of the public
schools of his native town, being graduated in the
Mount Auburn high school as a member of the
class of 1887, while later he completed courses
in the commercial and normal departments of
the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Business College, be-
ing graduated in each. He also was for a time
a student in the Iowa State University, at Iowa
City, but did not complete a course. Mr. Walker
began , teaching at the age of eighteen years,
and in i8go came to Watertown. to accept the
position of principal of tile commercial college
here, retaining the incumbency for a period of
five years.- after which he was for one year prin-
cipal of the Curtis Business College, in St. Paul,
^Minnesota. He then returned to his native town,
where he was principal of the public schools for
one and one-half years, when he resigned and
returned to Watertown, purchasing the Water-
town Commercial College, which he has since
conducted, having greatly amplified the functions
and usefulness of the institution and brought it
up to the highest standard of excellence in all
its departments. He was elected county super-
intendent of schools in 1900, and that his course
met with popular endorsement was shown in his
re-election, in 1902, without opposition. He is
enthusiastic in his work, a careful and conscien-
tious executive, and has done much to further
educational interests in tlie county. He is a mem-
ber of the board of trustees of the public library
of Watertown and took an active part in secur-
ing the donation for the new Carnegie library,
vv-hich is to be erected in the near future, at a cost
I of fifteen thousand dollars.
: Professor Walker is a stanch advocate of the
I principles and policies of the Republican party,
and fraternally is prominently identified with
' the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias.
In the former he has completed the round of the
! York Rite bodies, including the commandery of
Knights Templar, while he has served as wor-
shipful master of the blue lodge, and as recorder
of \\'atertown Commandery. Xo. 7. Knights
Templar, and keeper of records and seals of
Trishocotyn Lodge, No. 17, Knights of Pythias,
having held the latter office ever since he was
constituted a Knight of Pythias with the excep-
tion of an interval of six months, while in 1893
j he represented the local Masonic lodge in the
grand lodge of the state, at Deadwood, and has
thrice been a delegate to the grand lodge of the
Knights of Pythias in South Dakota.
On the 25th of July, 1892. Professor Walker
was united in marriage to Miss May A. Slat-
j tery, who was born in Ohio, being a daughter
I of David A. and Margaret (Jones) Slattery. the
former now deceased and the latter is now a resi-
dent of Watertown, South Dakota. She had
\ been a successful teacher in the public schools
I of South Dakota prior to her marriage. Profes-
sor and Mrs. Walker have two children, Blaine
E. and Hazel M.
Watertown Commercial College was estab-
lished in 1887. The school enrolls from one
hundred to one hundred and twenty-five pupils
per year and is adding from fifteen to twenty per
cent, increase each year. The courses are com-
mercial, shorthand and tyjiewriting, and normal.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
955
JOHN B. HAXTEN, an eminent attorney
of Watertown, Codington county, is a native
of Minnesota, having been born on a farm in
Scott county, January 20, 1859. He is a son of
Henry and Anna M. (Leas) Hanten, who were
born in Luxemburg. Germany. Henry Hanten
was a man -of erudition and sterling character,
and was for a number of years engaged in teach-
ing, in colleges and public schools, while finally
he engaged in agricultural pursuits in Minne-
sota, whence he came to Watertown, South Da-
kota, shortly prior to his death, wdiich here oc-
curred on the 28th of March. 1882. at which
time he was fifty-two years of age. He was
graduated in the institute at Luxemburg and
later completed a four years' course of study in
the university at Charles LeRoy, France. He
was a son of Jean and Susanna (Thobes) Hen-
ten, the former having been a prosperous farmer
in Luxemburg, Germany, where he passed his
entire life, his son, the father of the subject,
having come to America in 1854.
John B. Hanten accompanied his parents to
Germanv when seven years of age. and in the
excellent schools of that land received his early
education, having been graduated in the gym-
nasium at Larochette as a member of the class
of 1873. and thereafter taking a post-graduate
course in Luxemburg, Germany, where he re-
mained until 1874, when he returned to the
United States and in 1878 located at Kranz-
burg. Codington county. South Dakota, where
he was conducting a hotel until 1884. when he
engaged in the hardware business in that town.
In 1886 he was appointed clerk of the district
court, and thereupon disposed of his business in
Kranzbnrg and took up his residence in Water-
town. He held this incumbency for six years,
within which interval he had devoted much time
to the reading of law, and in the fall of 1892
he was admitted to the bar of the state, having
thoroughly grounded himself in the science of
jurisprudence. On the 23d of December, 1893,
Mr. Hanten was appointed receiver of the
Ignited States land office in Watertown, remain-
ing in tenure of this office until March 17, 1898.
when he resumed the practice of his profession.
in which he has met with distinctive success.
In the fall of the same year he was elected to
represent his district in the state senate, serv-
ing one term, while he was the candidate of his
party for a second term, in 1900, but met de-
feat which attended the party ticket in general
throughout the state. He has ever been a stal-
wart advocate of the principles of the Demo-
cratic party, in whose cause he has been an
active and effective worker. Mr. Hanten is at
the present time president of the Business Men's
Union, of Watertown, and likewise one of its
directors. He served four years as a member
of the National Guard of South Dakota, being
raised to the rank of sergeant, while later he was
assistant chief of supplies, with rank of major,
on the staf¥ of ex-Governor A. C. Mellette. He
is identified with the Catholic Order of Forest-
ers, in which he is state chief ranger at the time
of this writing, having held the office from the
time of the organization of the order in the
state, in 1900. He and his wife are communi-
cants of the Catholic church, being members of
Immaculate Conception church, in whose work
they take an active interest. Mr. Hanten was
one of the organizers of the Watertown State
Bank, of which he is president, and he ever
shows a deep interest in all that makes for the
progress and material prosperity of his home
city and state. In 1878 his father purchased a
large tract of railroad land in what is now
South Dakota, and several of his sons, including
the subject, came here to do their part in settling
and developing the country, encountering the
varied experiences and vicissitudes of pioneer
life on the plains.
At Kranzburg. this state, on the 25th of
January, 1881, Mr. Hanten was united in mar-
riage to Miss Margaret A. Kranz. daughter of
Matthew and Margaretha (Ludwig) Kranz,
both of whom were born and reared in Germany,
whence they emigrated to Minnesota, and then
to South Dakota, being numbered among the
first settlers of Codington county, while the town
of Kranzburg was named in honor of Mr.
Kranz. Mrs. Hanten was born at New Trier,
Dakota countv, Minnesota, on the 2d of Julv,
9S6
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1862. The subject and his wife are the parents
of nine children, namely: Henry M., assistant
cashier and bookkeeper in the State Bank ; Mar-
garet; Louisa; John H. ; Mary: Helen; ]\Iatthe\v
W. ; Eleonora and Raphael E.
JOSEPH C. MILLER, the pioneer lumber
dealer of the attractive city of Watertown, was
born in the province of Ontario, Canada, on the
22d of July, 1847, being a son of Frederick and
Catherine (Near) Miller, the former of whom
was born in Germany and the latter in the state
of Pennsylvania, his father having been a cler-
gyman of the Lutheran church and a man of ex-
alted character and marked ability. He died in
1 881 and his devoted wife passed into eternal
rest in 1845. The subject received his early ed-
ucation in the common schools of Wisconsin,
whither his father had removed in 1849. ^nd
he then supplemented this discipline by a course
of study in a business college in the city of Mil-
waukee, where he was graduated in 1865. There-
after he was employed as clerk in connection with
the great lumber industry in that state,
until 1867, when he removed to Minne-
sota, where he continued to be identified with
the lumber business until 1878, when he came to
Watertown, Dakota territory, where he opened
the first lumber yard in the village, which then
had a population of about twenty inhabitants.
He has shown distinctive energy and enterprise,
and the scope of his business has increased with
the growth and development of the city and
county, and has now reached large proportions,
his yards being well equipped with all kinds of
lumber and building material, while his trade
extends throughout a wide radius of country
tributary to the city of Watertown, which is now
a thriving town of five thousand population.
Mr. Miller has ever been found stanchly ar-
rayed in support of the principles and policies of
the Republican party, in whose work he has ta-
ken an active part. He was elected to repre-
sent his district in the state senate in 1893, ^'^d
made an excellent record in the general assem-
bly, serving for the regular term of two vears
and to the satisfaction of his constituents and
the public in general. He is at the present time
a member of the board of education of Water-
town. He and his wife are prominent and zealous
members of the Lutheran church, and he is at
the present time a member of its board of trus-
tees, in which capacity he has served for six
years.
On the 3d of September, 1873, at Winona,
Minnesota, Mr. Miller was united in marriage
to iliss Lena Kissling, who was born in that
state, being a daughter of Jacob Kissling. ]\Ir.
and Mrs. IMiller have six children, namely : Lot-
tie, Walter, Joseph, Lena. Ella and Flora.
JAMES RILEY, one of the leading business
men of Watertown and senior member of the
firm of Riley & Cook, manufacturers and dealers
in harness, saddlery, etc., is a native of Mon-
mouth county. New Jersey, and the son of Ber-
nard and Elsie (Keough) Riley, the father born
in Ireland, the mother in New York, the latter a
descendant of one of the old Dutch families of the
Empire state. James Riley was born August i,
1848, and at the age of six years was taken to
Missouri, where he lived until a youth of four-
teen, the meanwhile receiving a common-school
education, and on leaving home in 1862 entered
upon a three-years apprenticeship in Jefferson
City to learn harness-making. After serving his
time and becoming a skillful workman, he ac-
companied his parents to Omaha, Nebraska, and
there followed his chosen calling until 1868,
when he changed his location to Missouri Val-
ley, Iowa, at which place he remained with his
parents until their respective deaths. From
Iowa Mr. Riley, in 1875, went to Yankton, South
Dakota, and after working at his trade in that
city for two years, came to Codington county in
1877 and settled on government land a short dis-
tance north of the present site of Kampeska,
where he in addition to filing on a homestead
also took up a tree claim. In 1880 he engaged in
the manufacture and sale of harness at W'ater-
town. his establishment being the first of the kind
in the place. To this line of business he has since
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
devoteil his attention, althoug:h for a few years
he resided on a farm, of which he is still the pos-
sessor, using it of recent years more as a summer
resort than as a source of income. His business
career has been eminently prosperous, he having
secured an extensive patronage and his estab-
lishment is now one of the leading business
stands in the city.
When Mr. Riley filed on his first homestead
in Codington county the nearest town was Canby.
fifty miles away, and he was obliged to travel over
the modest distance of twenty-four miles to com-
municate with his closest neighbor, though C. C.
'\\'ilcy and O. S. Jewell (now deceased) accom-
panied him in May, 1877, and all took land on
Lake Kampeska. When the county was organ-
ized he was appointed sheriff, and it fell to him
to make the first arrest, which was of the man
who committed the first murder within his juris-
diction.
Mr. Riley has been actively irlcntified with
public affairs ever since the county's organiza-
tion and has done much to advertise the advan-
tages of his part of the state to the world and
induce a substantial and thrifty class of people i
to make it their permanent place of abode. In
addition to his large and steadily growing busi-
ness in Watertown he has extensive real-estate
interests in the county, owning four hundred
acres of fine farm and grazing land, much of
which is under cultivation, the rest being devoted
to live stock. He is a leading spirit in the Odd
Fellows fraternity at ^^^atertown, haying held
every ofiice within the power of the local lodge to
confer and in addition to the title of past noble
grand, which he now bears, he is also past chief
patriarch of the order. Fie is a Congregation-
alist in religion, being a zealous member of the
First church at ^^^atertown and a trustee of-the
same.
Mr. Riley was married at Owatonna, Minne-
sota, March 6, 1884, to :\Hss Helen Coggswell,
who was born in 1857. near Owatonna, when
Minnesota was still a territory. Mrs. Rilev is
the daughter of Amos and Harriet (Clark)
Coggswell and a descendant of old colonial
stock that figured in the early history of New
England and in the war of the Revolution. Her
father was born September 29, 1825, in New
Hampshire, was a lawyer by profession and for
a number of years acted as attorney for the gen-
eral land office at Washington, D. C. Subse-
quently he migrated to Minnesota, with the early
public affairs of which state he became prom-
inently identified, having been one of the lead-
ing members of the constitutional convention and
in i860 represented his county in the lower house
of the general assembly. He served a number
of years in that body, was speaker of the house
from 1872 to 1875 inclusive, and later was elected
to the senate, besides holding other offices, among
which was that of probate judge of Steele county.
He was a son of Francis Coggswell, also a law-
yer, and the father of the latter was Col. Amos
Coggswell. who held a commission in the Amer-
ican army during the war of the Revolution and
who at one time was presented with a beautiful
sword by General Washington, in recognition of
bis bravery in battle. This weapon is now in
possession of 'Sir. Rilev. who prizes it as a pre-
cious heirloom. Mrs. Rilev and her sister, Abby,
now the wife of M. T, McCrady, of Owatonna,
^Minnesota, located homesteads on the edge of
Kampeska Lake, ten miles north of Water-
town, in 1878, and livefl on their respective claims
for a period of five years and six months, prov-
ing up on the same and receiving patents from
the government. They experienced many vicis-
situdes and hardships during that time, suffered
much from cold in winter seasons, but, deter-
mined to hold their lands, they persevered in
their purpose until, as stated above, deeds for the
same were safely in their possession. Both ]\Ir.
and ]\Irs. Riley are descended from pioneer stock,
their respective ancestors from the Revolutionary
period to the present time having steadily moved
westward and figured in the frontier history of
many states and territories. They have had
three children, only one of whom, a daughter by
the name of Helen Irene, is living: the other two
were Amos C, who departed this life at the age
of six years, and James C, who died in infancy.
In politics Mr. Riley is a Republican and has
long been one of the party's leaders in Coding-
958
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ton county. While zealous in upholding his
principles and untiring in his efforts to promote
the success of the ticket, he is not a partisan in the
sense of seeking office, being too deeply absorbed
in his business affairs to devote much time to
his own political interests.
CHARLES T. CAMPBELL, born Cham-
bersburg, Pennsylvania, 1823. Served in Mexi-
can war and Rebellion ; was made brigadier gen-
eral by President Lincoln for bravery in action.
Came to Dakota in 1866. Prominent in Demo-
cratic politics. Lived at Scotland, and died in
JOHN l\nCHAELS. one of the prominent
citizens and honored pioneers of Codington
county, is a native of Mecklenburg. Germany,
where he was born on the 29th of Alarch, 1843,
being a son of John and ]\[innie (Schroeder)
Michaels, who passed their entire lives in the
fatherland, the former having been there
identified with agricultural pursuits during the
major portion of his life. The subject received
his educational training in the excellent schools
of his native land, and thereafter followed farm-
ing there until 1866, when he severed the ties
which bound him to home and fatherland and set
forth to seek his fortune in the new world. On
July 1st of that year he was united in marriage
to Miss Lena Dahl, who accompanied him to
America, and who has proved to him a devoted
wife and helpmeet. He located in Dodge county,
Wisconsin, becoming the owner of a good farm,
but meeting with such reverses during the
financial panic of 1873-4 that he was finally com-
pelled to dispose of his property at a great sac-
rifice. In 1 881, in the hope of recuperating his
resources, he came with his family to what is
now the state of South Dakota and located in
Codington county, where he purchased one
hundred and sixty acres of railroad land, twelve
miles north of Watertown, which was then a
mere hamlet of a few primitive houses. He was
verv successful in his efforts, in which he had the
assistance of his sons, and in time became the
owner of one and one-quarter sections of land,
while he made the best improvements on the
property and in time became one of the most
prosperous and influential farmers and stock
growers of the county in which he had settled as
a pioneer. He has retained in his possession
four hundred acres of his land, the remainder
being now in the possession of his sons. Mr.
Michaels continued to reside on his ranch until
1897 when he removed to AA'atertown, where he
has an attractive modern residence, at 220 Elm
street. L'pon coming to town he became as-
sociated in the clothing business, as previously
noted tuider the firm name of Nelson &
Michaels, and they have a finely equipped estab-
lishment at the corner of Kemp and ]\Iaple
streets, carrying a large and complete stock of
clothing, men's furnishing goods, etc., and cater-
ing to an extensive and appreciative trade. The
firm also have a branch store at Clark, in the
countv of the same name, and this also controls
an excellent business.
3,lr. ^lichaels is a man of sterling integrity,
marked individuality and much business acu-
men, and he has ever shown a lively interest in
I the welfare of the county and state of his adop-
tion. He served for six years as a member of the
board of county commissioners, being an un-
compromising Republican in his political pro-
clivities, and in 1894 he was elected to represent
Codington county in the state legislature, where
he made an excellent record, being chosen as
his own successor in 1896. Since that time he
has been practically retired from public affairs,
though he still manifests much interest in the
questions and issues of the hour. He and his
wife are prominent members of the German
Lutheran church and take an active part in the
various departments of its work.
Mr. and ]\Irs. Michaels are the parents of
five children, concerning whom we offer the
following brief data in conclusion of this sketch :
Herman is a member of the clothing firm of
Nelson & Michaels ; Anna is the wife of Henry
Stein, of Codington county: John R. ; ]\Iax C,
i who married Miss Ella Weber, is a clergyman
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of the Lutheran church and is pastor of the
cluirches at Henry, Grover and Carrollton;
Frank B. is superintendent of the branch store
maintained by the firm of Nelson & Michaels at
Clark.
ARCHIE WEAVER, one of the pioneer
merchants and highly esteemed citizens of
^^'aterto\vn, was born in Dayton, Ohio, on the
loth of December. 1853, being- a son of Jacob
and Louisa \\'eaver. The father died when the
subject was but two years of age, and the latter
secured his early educational training in the
common schools of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin.
He was early thrown on his own resources, so
that he stands as the architect of his own for-
tunes, having gained success by worthy means
and by close application and hard work. For
some time prior to coming to the territory of
Dakota he was engaged in general merchandis-
ing in the cit\' of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. He
came thence to Watertown in 1879, becoming
one of the early settlers of the town, and here
he established a small general store, which
figured as the nucleus of his present large and
profitable business enterprise. He was one of
the first merchants of the town, and has at all
times shown a public-spirited interest in its
progress and material prosperity. In politics he
gives his support to the Democratic party, and
fraternally is identified with the local organiza-
tions of the Modern Woodmen of America and
the Ancient Order of L^nited Workmen. He has
an attractive residence in the eastern division of
the city, and is the owner of other real estate,
including his place of business, which is a two-
story structure of brick.
At twenty-five years of age ^Ir. Weaver was
united in marriage to Miss Clara M. Clark, who
was born in Iowa. Her father died when she
was but a child, and her mother subsequently
became the wife of D. C. Thomas, and now re-
sides in Watertown. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver be-
came the parents of three children : Guy died in
infancy, and Florence E. and Franklin L. stil!
remain at the parental home.
ANDREW P. FOLEY, one of the sterling
citizens and progressive business men of Water-
town, Codington county, comes of stanch Irish
lineage and is a native of the beautiful capital
city of Wisconsin, where he was born on the
13th of January. 1859, being a son of Matthew
and Mary (Gahen) Foley, both of whom were
born and reared in Dublin, Ireland. They came
to America about 1849, and the father of
Andrew P. Foley located in Dane county. Wis-
consin, where he became a farmer, while his
sterling characteristics made him one of the
popular and honored citizens of that section.
Both he and his wife died in Wisconsin, and
thev are survived bv their four sons and three
daughters.
Andrew P. Foley was reared to manhood in
his native state, and received his educational
discipline in the parochial and public schools.
At the age of sixteen years he entered upon an
apprenticeship at the blacksmith trade, becoming
a skilled workmen. He continued to follow the
work of his trade in Wisconsin and Minnesota
until 1880, when he came to South Dakota and
took up his residence in Watertown, which then
had a population of about one thousand persons.
Soon after his arrival he established a horse-
shoeing shop, which he conducted successfully
for several years. For the past three years he
has also done an excellent business in the han-
dling of agricultural implements and machinery,
carriages, buggies, wagons, etc. He is endowed
with the alert mentality and business acumen
so characteristic of the race, and has so effect-
ively ordered his affairs as to have attained a
position of independence, being one of the well-
to-do citizens of the county. He is the owner
of about two thousand acres of excellent farm-
ing land in Codington and Hamlin counties, and
derives good returns from his agricultural and
stock-raising interests, while he also has a con-
siderable amount of property in Watertown, in-
cluding his place of business and also his fine
residence, at the corner of Warner and Cotton-
wood streets.
In politics Mr. Foley is a stanch Democrat
and takes an active part in forwarding the cause
960
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of the party of his choice. In 1890 he was
elected sheriiif of Codington county, in which
capacity he served four years, giving a most able
administration and gaining unqualified popular
endorsement. In 1898 he was elected to repre-
sent his county in the lower house of the state
legislature, serving during the sixth general as-
sembly and doing all in his power to secure wise
and effective legislation. He and his wife are
communicants of the Catholic church, being
prominent members of Immaculate Conception
parish, and fraternally he is affiliated with the
Catholic Order of Foresters and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks.
On the 1st of November, 1888, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Foley to Miss Dora
Rourk. who was born in Eden, Wisconsin, being
a daughter of John and Mary Rourk. Of this
union have been born seven children, namely:
Francis died on the i8th of May. 1902, at the
age of nine years: Thomas died January 19,
1904, aged nine years, and those surviving are
Andrew, John, Marie, Catherine and Willard.
Mrs. Foley also passed away on the 17th of
August, 190^, after a brief illness.
LEANDER D. LYOX. deceased, was a na-
tive of the state of ^Michigan, having been born in
Hudson, Lenawee county, on the Qth of No-
vember. 1847. and being a son of Lyman J. and
Amanda (Davenport) L}on. His father was a
soldier in the Mexican war and died when the
subject was a child, so that the latter was early
thrown upon his own resources, his educational
advantages having been those afforded in the
common schools of his native state. When but
twelve years of age he entered a newspaper of-
fice and finally completed a full apprenticeship
at the printing trade, becoming a very skilled
workman. He proved the truth of the statement
that the discipline of a newspaper office is equal
to a liberal education, and became a man of
broid information and distinctive intellectuality,
wliile he gained recognition as an able and force-
ful writer. He was for a time editor of a paper
in his native town, and later published a paper
in Fayette, Ohio, from which place he removed
to Circleville, Ohio, where he became editor and
publisher of the Union Herald. He was also
for some time identified with newspaper work
in Detroit, IMichigan, and Buffalo. New York.
In the former city he was awarded a diploma
for having executed the finest specimen of job
printing among a large number of contestants,
having been specially- capable in this line, while
throughout his life he ever aimed to -attain per-
fection in all that he undertook. In 1882 Mr.
Lyon left Circleville, Ohio, and came to the ter-
ritory of Dakota, locating in Watertown, where
he became associated with Messrs. C. G. Church
and F. A. Barr in the publishing and editing of
the Courier-News, which issued daily and weekly
editions. He eventually purchased the interests
of his two partners and continued the enterprise
individually for a number of years. He then
established here a paper to which he gave the
name of Public Opinion, and made the same a
powerful factor in the community. He was a
man of strong individuality and decided views,
and was fearless in the expression of his opin-
ions through his paper, and thus he naturallv
created some enmities in his efforts to promote
the best interests of the community and. though
antagonism was created, his views were finally
widely recognized and approved by the better
element in the community and state, his paper be-
coming one of the most valuable and successful
properties of Watertown. He finally sold the
plant and business of the Public Opinion to the
firm of Ransom & Corey, and shortly afterward
became superintendent of the \\'atertown ^^'ater.
Light and Power Company. At the time of his
assuming this office the affairs of the company
were in a deplorable condition and the service
was far from what it should have been. Though
new to the work, Mr. Lyon brought to bear his
excellent business judgment and dominating en-
ergv and soon the effects became evident in the
improvement of the system and in the placing
of the business upon a profitable basis. Of this
position he continued incumbent until his death.
He served in various offices of local order, and
in politics gave an uncompromising allegiance to
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
961
the Republican party. During the war of the Re-
belhon Mr. Lyon rendered vahant service in de-
fense of the Union, having been a member of a
regiment of Michigan \'olunteer Infantry, and
he ever afterward maintained a deep interest
in his old comrades in arms and was a prominent
member of the Grand Army of the RepubHc.
As his father was a soldier in the Mexican war,
he also became affiliated with the Sons of Veter-
ans, having served as colonel of the state organ-
ization of the same in South Dakota, while the
ramp of. the order at Blunt was named in his
honor. He was also affiliated with the ^lasonic
fraternity, in which he attained the Knight Tem-
plar degrees, while he was a charter member of
the lodge in Watertown. He was also a member
of various other fraternal and social organiza-
tions, while he was one of the organizers of the
A\'atertown Business Men's Union, of which he
was secretary for a number of years. While he
was publishing the Public Opinion his paper was
the first in the state to suggest the name of Ben-
jamin Harrison in connection with the nomina-
tion for President of the United States, and in
recognition of this fact he received a most gra-
cious and appreciative personal letter of thanks
from Mr. Harrison. He was one of the most in-
sistent advocates of the division of the territory
of Dakota and did most effective service in se-
curing the admission of South Dakota to the
Union. Mr. Lyon was summoned into eternal
rest on the 30th of January, 1903, after a brief
illness, and his death came as a personal bereave-
ment to the people of Watertown, while through-
out the state the press gave high tribute to his
memory and to the work which he had accom-
plished as a public-spirited and progressive citi-
zen and as a man of exalted integrity. His fu-
neral was one of the most notable ever held in
Watertown, business being practically suspended
nt the time, while many of the prominent citizens
f'-oni divers parts of the state came to pay a last
mark of respect to one whose life had been al-
together worthy.
In the city of Detroit, ^lichigan, on the 13th
of August, 1866, was solemnized the marriage
of Mr. Lvon to Miss Anna R. Baker, who was
born in Bufifalo, New York, whose death occurred
November 15, 1886. His second wife, who sui-
vives, was Miss Emma Anderson, of Janesville,
Wisconsin. His daughter, Mirriam, is now the
wife "of W, J, McMath, who is the local repre-
sentative of the New York Mutual Life Insur-
ance Company. They have three children.
Ralph, Dwight and Miriam. Frank W., the
younger of the two children, was born in Buf-
falo, New York, on the 13th of April, 1871, and is
now a jobber and retail dealer in crockery, stone-
ware, glassware, lamps, etc., in Watertown, be-
ing one of the progressive and successful busi-
ness men of the place. For five years he held the
office of sub-agent at the Standing Rock Indian
agency, in North Dakota, and for three years
had a similar incumbency at the Cheyenne
agency, in South Dakota. He had previously
been a traveling salesman for a leading whole-
sale crockery house in the city of ^Minneapolis.
In politics he is a Republican, and is the present
city treasurer.
On the 19th of November, 1895, Frank W.
Lyon was united in marriage to iMiss Imelda
.Marie McLaughlin, the daughter of Colonel
James McLaughlin, who was chief inspector in
the Indian service, having been appointed dur-
ing the administration of General Grant, Mrs.
Lyon passed away on the 14th of February,
1898, leaving one child, James R. S. On the
15th of April, 1901, at the Cheyenne River
agency, ]\Ir. Lyon married Miss Helen May
Crane, who was born in Titusville, Pennsyl-
vania, and who was at the time of her marriage
in the government service, having charge of the
hospital at the government agency mentioned,
her professional training having been secured in
one of the leading hospitals of the city of Cleve-
land, Ohio, Of this union were born two chil-
dren, Elizabeth, who died in infancy, and Ra-
mona Martha, born July 28, 1903.
C. M. BUTTS, son of Jacob S. and Alalinda
(Johnson) Butts, was born on a farm in Dela-
ware county. New York, April 15, 1843, his
parents also being natives of the Empire state.
962
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
In 1848 the family removed to Wisconsin, set-
tling in Waupaca county, and it was there that
the subject grew to maturity, spending the in-
tervening years as his father's assistant on the
farm and attending, as opportunities afforded,
the public schools near the homestead. While
thus engaged the great Civil war broke out and,
fired with patriotic zeal, he enlisted. May 19,
1861, in Company D, Third Wisconsin Infantry,
but by reason of being a minor was discharged
the following July. Two years later, however,
he was more fortunate in entering the sendee,
being accepted in July, 1863, by the same com-
pany and regiment in which he had previously
attempted to enlist, joining his command at the
front in time to participate in some of the
fiercest and most noted battles of the war. He
shared with his comrades the vicissitudes of the
Atlanta campaign, took part in several bloody
engagements in the vicinity of that city, and
later marched with General Sherman on the cele-
brated march to the sea. Mr. Butts served
bravely and gallantly until the downfall of the
rebellion, after which he returned home, and in
the fall of 1866 removed to Olmstead county,
Minnesota, where he purchased land and en-
gaged in the pursuit of agriculture upon his own
responsibility. After living in that countv until
1S78, he sold his farm and removed to the county
of Watonwan, in the same state, where he made
his home until i8gi, at which time he disposed
of his interests in Minnesota and changed his
residence to South Dakota, locating in Garret-
son, with the growth and prosperity of which
thriving city he has since been identified. For
some years following his arrival in Garretson
I\Ir. Butts was engaged in the drug business,
but in 1895 he sold his establishment and
turned his attention to real estate, in which he
soon acquired an extensive and lucrative patron-
age. Being energetic and knowing how to take
advantage of opportunities, he found himself in
due time on the high road to prosperity, his
business affairs having prospered and all of his
investments proving fortunate. In the sum-
mer of 1901 he erected the Grand hotel, the
largest and best patronized house of public en-
tertainment in Garretson, and in addition
thereto has put up other buildings from time to
time, thus adding very materially to the growth
and substantial improvement of the city,
Mr. Butts was married in Fillmore county,
Minnesota, May 5, 1866, to Miss Katie M.
Conan, a native of Canada, the union resulting
in the birth of two children, the older of whom,
Edith M., wife of Dr. C. W. Locke, died in the
month of August, 1891 ; Claude, the second
daughter, dying at the age of twelve years. ]\Ir.
Butts has served several terms as alderman, and
as a member of the council did much to advance
the interests of the municipality and promote the
city's development. He cast his first vote for
Abraham Lincoln, a fact of which he feels justly
proud, and ever since that time has been a
pronounced Republican, zealous as a party worker
and manager, and outspoken in the advocacy
and defense of his principles. He has never
been an office seeker, preferring to labor for the
advancement of his friends' political interest
rather than his own.
CARL P. HELSTED. who has already
passed life's meridian and is now living in hon-
orable retirement, is a sturdy son of Scandinavia,
liorn September 18, 1830, in the romantic and
historic country of Sweden. His father being a
farmer, he too was reared a tiller of the soil and
followed that time-honored calling in the land
of his nativitiy imtil 1868, in June of which vear
he took passage for America on the steamer
"Great Eastern," and after a voyage of sixteen
days' duration landed in the harbor of New York.
From that city he went to Chicago, Illinois,
thence, after a short time, to ^lichigan, where
he spent about three months at railroad work,
at the expiration of which time he transferred
his residence to Iowa, where he was similarlv
employed for a limited period. From the latter
state he went to Omaha, Nebraska, but after
spending some six months in the railroad shops
of that city, he removed to Plattsmouth, where
for about one year he kept a boarding house.
Mr. Helsted's next move was to Sioux Citv,
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
963
Iowa, where he also opened a boarding house
and after conducting the same with encouraging
success until 1872, he disposed of the establish-
ment and came to Minnehaha county. South Da-
kota, locating a homestead in Branden town-
ship, which in due time he improved and con-
verted into a fine farm. Mr. Helsted made a
judicious selection of land, having been among
the early settlers of the county with excellent
opportunities for looking over the country and
comparing the relative merits of its different
parts. He put up substantial buildings and, de-
voting all of his energies to agriculture and stock
raising, succeeded in accumulating a competence
of sufficient magnitude to enable him, in the fall
of 1901, to retire from active life. He sold his
farm that year and, purchasing a beautiful home
in Garretson, moved to the same and since then
he has been enjoying the fruits of his many
years of toil and thrift in a life free from care
and anxiety.
]\Ir. Helsted was married in his native land,
and two of his five children were born and lie
buried near his old ancestral home. One child
died in Sioux City, Iowa, and the two surviving
are Louise, the wife of W. W. Cole, of Clay
county, and Frederick, who lives in Montana.
iMr. Halstead served as constable of Branden
township and, although a zealous and uncompro-
mising Republican, he has never been an office
seeker, having preferred the quiet life on the
farm, and the simple title of citizen to any pub-
lic honors within the power of his fellow men to
bestow. He was reared in the Lutheran faith,
and since an early age has been a faithful and
devoted member of the Swedish Lutheran church,
being at this time one of the pillars of the con-
gregation in Branden township and one of its
most liberal contributors. He was treasurer of
his church for three vears.
ELTQENE E. CROSS, of Garretson, presi-
dent of the Minnehaha State Bank, was born in
Juneau county, Wisconsin, August 13, 1859, and
at the early age of nine years was left practically
an orphan by the death of his father, Daniel P.
Cross, a farmer and stock raiser of that state
and an estimable citizen of the community in
which he resided. Shortly after the death of his
father, young Cross was taken by relatives to St.
Charles, Minnesota, but after spending a short
time at that place, he went to live with his
grandfather, near Iowa Falls, Iowa, in which
state he grew to maturity and received his edu-
cational training. Reared on a farm, he early
became accustomed to the varied duties of agri-
culture and, reaching manhood's estate, found
himself well qualified bv this training to face the
future and to enter upon a career which from
the beginning gave every promise of ultimate
success.
In December, 1S81, Mr. Cross came to South
Dakota and engaged in the grain trade at Lake
Preston, Kingsbury county, where he remained
for a period of six years, during which time he
built up a large and flourishing business, realiz-
ing from the same handsome financial profits.
Later he took up a homestead in Clark county,
but after living on his land about two years, re-
moved to Palisades, where for a period of one
year he operated the first hardware store in the
town. From Palisades he came to Garretson,
where he also engaged in the hardware business,
being the first to bring a special line of that
kind of merchandise to the city, and it was not
long until he forged to the front as one of the
most enterprising and public-spirited merchants
of the place. He devoted his attention ex-
clusively to hardware for a period of eleven
years, at the expiration of which time, in March,
1901, he disposed of his stock and the summer
following erected the handsome stone building
now occupied by the Minnehaha State Bank,
which institution he organized and in the man-
agement of which he has since been a leading
and influential factor.
Mr. Cross has been president of the bank
ever since its organization and under his able
management and judicious control it has become
one of the popular and reliable monetary estab-
lishments in the eastern part of the state, doing
an extensive business in all lines of banking, and
by its presence adding greatly to the high r<;pu-
964
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
tation Garretson enjoys among her sister cities
of South Dakota. ^Ir. Cross is not only an ac-
complished business man as the term is
generally implied, but having made a close and
comprehensive study of monetary questions, he
is especially well informed concerning the same,
and may be considered an authority on all mat-
ters relating to finance and banking. He has
been prominent in the public affairs of Gar-
retson ever since becoming a resident of the
same, has served with great acceptance as mayor
of the city, and for some time past has been a
member of the common council. Fraternally,
be is identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, being a charter member of Lodge
No. 74, at Garretson, and at different times an
honored official of the organization.
Mr. Cross has been remarkably fortunate in
promoting his various business interests, being
the possessor of a fortune of no small magnitude,
including in addition to a number of valuable
city properties and private capital, a fine farm of
two hundred and forty acres, admirably situated
in one of the richest agricultural districts of
Clark county.
Mr. Cross was married at St. Charles. Min-
nesota, in the year iSgo. to r^Iiss Florence E.
r.lair, of that state, the union being without issue.
JOHX HO\'E. an enterprising business man
of Garretson. is a nati\'e of Fillmore countv, ]\Iin-
nesota, where his birth occurred on the 25th dav
of September, 1864. Reared on a farm he was
early taught the dignity of honest toil and. grow-
ing up with habits of industry deeply imbedded
in his nature, was well qualified at the proper
time to assume the stern duties of life. He en-
joyed the advantages of a common-school edu-
cation, and after remaining with his parents and
assisting with the labors of the farm until at-
taining his majority, he left the home circle and
in 1S85 came to Minnehaha county. South Da-
kota, where_ he followed agriculture for some
years as a renter. Later, in 1893. Mr. Hove
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in
EiHson townshii?. which he reduced to cultiva-
tion, improved with good buildings and stocked
with cattle and other domestic animals, in due
time converting the land into a fine farm, on
which he made his home during the nine years
following. In the spring of 1902 he turned his
place over to other hands and changed his abode
to Garretson. where one year later he effected a
co-partnership in the hardware business with Mr.
Munson. which, under the firm name of Hove &
Munson, is now one of the leading mercantile
establishments in the city. By close attention to
business and by judiciously consulting the de-
mands of the trade, these gentlemen have secured
a large and lucrative patronage, and, although
but recently estalilisbed, their house has steadily
come to the front until, as stated in the preceding
paragraph, it is now one of the successful and
popular places of business in a city where com-
petition in all lines is lively and where only the
capable and far-seeing succeed. Mr. Hove served
five years as a member of the Edison township
official board and also filled the office of assessor,
in both of which capacities his course was credit-
able to himself and satisfactory to the public.
Mr. Hove has faith in the future of his city
and county, and to the extent of his ability is
applying his energies to the promotion of the
welfare of each, being interested in whatever
concerns the material prosperity of the commu-
nity and a willing supporter of all enterprises
having for their object the intellectual, social
and moral well-being of the same.
Mr. Hove was united in marriage, in Minne-
haha county. March 25. 1888. to Miss Lovisa
Munson. who. like himself., is a native of ]\Iinne-
sota. both having been born in the county of
Fillmore, that state.
THO^IAS WAXGSNESS. one of the en-
terprising and progressive business men of South
Dakota, having official connection with the Kad-
ing monetary institutions of Minnehaha coiintw
was born in Calmer. ^Vinneshiek county, Iowa,
on the 31st day of January, i860, the son of
Herman and Bertha ( Tviedt ) Wangsness, botli
parents, as the names indicate, being natives nf
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
965
Norway. The father, a farmer by occupation, i.s
still living, the mother having departed this life
in Worth county, Iowa, about the year 1900.
The subject of this review was a lad of
twelve years when his parents moved from Win-
neshiek to the county of Worth, and he grew to
young manhood in the latter county, his early
life including the experiences common to the
majority of boys born and reared amid the stir-
ring and invigorating discipline of the farm. At
intervals, during his minority, he attended the
public schools near his home, and in the summer
seasons assisted in cultivating the fields, harvest-
ing the crops and looking after the other in-
terests of agriculture with which country lads
early become familiar. At the age of nineteen
he severed home ties and, going to Winnebago
county, engaged in general merchandising, to
which line of business he devoted his attention
tluring the ensuing twelve years, meeting with
well-merited success the meanwhile. Disposing
of his stock at the expiration of the period noted,
Mr. Wangsness accepted the position of traveling
salesman with a harvester company, which he
represented on the road about three years, dur-
ing which time he traversed a large area of terri-
tory, built up an extensive trade, and established
an enviable reputation as a capable, far-seeing
and thoroughly reliable business man. Severing
his connections with the above concern, Mr.
Wangsness, in 1893, came to ^Minnehaha county,
South Dakota, locating at Garretson, where he
invested some of his means very judiciouslv,
erecting in due time the beautiful and imposing
business house now occupied by the State Bank,
of which he has been president ever since the
organization of the institution, the year follow-
ing his arrival. He was the leading spirit in es-
tablishing this bank and, under his executive
management, it rapidly grew in public favor, in
the course of a few years becoming not only the
leading establishment of the kind in IMinnehaha
county, but, as already stated, one of the most
successful and popular monetary institutions in
the eastern part of the state.
The Garretson State Bank, which is backed by
men of high character and large experience, has
a paid-up capital of ten thousand dollars, with
deposits many fold that amount, and in addition
to general banking does a large and growing
business in the matter of farm loans, also gives
especial attention to collections, besides repre-
senting a number of the leading insurance com-
panies of the United States and acting as an
agency for various steamship lines. Its patron-
age in the various departments is large and far-
reaching and its influence upon the material in-
terest of Garretson has done more than any other
agency to give the city the high reputation it
has long enjoyed as an important commercial and
'business center.
In addition to his connection with the bank.
Mr. Wangsness has been called at different times
to assume other responsible trusts, among which
was that of treasurer of the Garretson school
board, which position he held a number of years,
and he has also served several terms in the city
council. He has a beautiful home in Garretson,
over which a lady of refined tastes and varied
culture presides with gentle grace and womanly
dignity. Her name prior to her marriage was
Miss Belle Aker, a native of Norway, and she
is now the happy mother of two children, who
answer to the names of Paul and Benjamin.
MARCUS H. WANGSNESS, merchant and
leading citizen of Garretson, is a native of Nor-
way, the son of Herman and Bertha (Tviedt)
Wangsness, and dates his birth from September
8, 1846. When about eight years of age he was
brought to America by his parents and during
the ensuing two years lived in Dane county,
Wisconsin, at the expiration of that time remov-
ing with the family to Winneshiek county, Iowa,
and settling at the town of Calmer. After
spending about four years at the latter place, the'
family residence was transferred to Burr Oak
Springs, in the same county, and there the sub-
ject grew to maturity, the meanwhile receiving
a good practical education in the public schools,
also turning his hands to various kinds of em-
ployment. i\Ir. Wangsness spent about fifteen
years at Burr Oak Springs, and at the end of
966
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
that time removed to Worth county, where he
followed agricultural pursuits until 1870, in con-
nection with which vocation he also devoted con-
siderable attention to the handling of farm ma-
chinery, in the sale of which he met with en-
couraging success financially. In the above
year he left the parental roof and in the spring
of the same year united in marriage with Miss
Olena Olsen, a native of Chicago, but of Nor-
wegian descent, and immediately thereafter set-
tled at Northwood, Iowa, where during the ten
years following he did a flourishing business in
the handling of all kinds of agricultural imple-
ments and farm machinery. Discontinuing that
line of trade at the expiration of the timfe noted,
he resumed the pursuit of agriculture and fol-
lowed the same in Worth county until 1877,
when he came to South Dakota and took up a
homestead and timber claim in the county of
Moody, improving the former and living thereon
for a period of seven years. Returning to Iowa
in 1884, he became associated with his brother
Thomas in the mercantile business, the firm thus
constituted lasting about four years, at the end
of which time they sold their stock, the subject
shortly thereafter coming to South Dakota and
locating at Palisades, Minnehaha county, where
in due season he engaged in general merchandis-
ing. At the end of two years he removed his
stock to Garretson, where he has since con-
ducted a large and lucrative business, being at
this time one of the leading merchants of the
city with a patronage which is constantly grow-
ing in magnitude and importance.
Mr. Wangsness served a streasurer of Pali-
sades township and since moving to Garretson
has held the office of city treasurer, school
treasurer and for several years has been a mem-
ber of the board of education, in all of which
positions he exhibited marked devotion to dutv
and a high order of business talent. He has
been quite successful in the prosecution of his
various interests, owning, in addition to his store
and valuable city property, three hundred and
twenty acres of fine land in Moodv county, this
state, and a quarter section in Palisades town-
ship. Minnehaha countv.
Mr. and Mrs. Wangsness have eight children,
the following of whom are living : Bertha, Ole,
Helen, Ida, Perry and Milven ; the two deceased
are Ellen, who died in infancy, and another
daughter, also named Ellen, who departed this
life when a young lady of sixteen.
LUMAN B. FARLEY, proprietor of the
leading drug house in Garretson, South Dakota,
and a gentleman of high standing in social, as
well as in the commercial and professional cir-
cles, is a native of South Dakota, and has spent
all his life within its borders. His parents, L. T.
and Carrie A. (Warner) Farley, came to South
Dakota in 1868 from Rock county, Wisconsin,
and settled in Lincoln county, where, entering
land, the father engaged in farming and stock
raising.
Luman B. was born on the homestead in Lin-
coln county, August 19, 1870, and grew up in
close touch with nature, receiving his educational
training in the public schools. In 1885, when
a youth of fifteen, he took up the study of phar-
macy and in due time, by close application and
critical research, succeeded in mastering the pro-
fession, after which, in August, 1898, he engaged
in business at Garretson, where, as already
stated, he now owns a large and thoroughly
stocked establishment, with a patronage second
to that of no other drug store in the city. Mr.
Farley's business career has been eminently cred-
itable, prosecuting from the beginning a series
of advancements which demonstrate not only a
business ability of high order and superior pro-
fessional training, but also a personal worth that
has won him the confidence of the public.
Mr. Farley is a man of excellent habits, stands
well with all classes of people and, being public-
spirited and enterprising, gives his influence and,
when necessary, his material assistance to en-
courage the growth and development of the city
in which he resides. Fraternally he is a member
of the Masonic brotherhood, also belongs to the
Knights of Pythias, and in politics supports the
Republican party.
Mr. Farlev is a married man and the father
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
967
of two bright and interesting children, whose
names are Wava and Roy. Mrs. Farley, for-
merly Miss Laura Christiansen, a native of Iowa,
lived for some years in Canton, South Dakota,
at which place her marriage was solemnized.
CLAYTON W. LOCKE, M. D., of Garret-
son, South Dakota, was born January 24, 1862,
near the town of Brockport, New York, where
his father, Elisha Locke, also a native of the
Empire state, had long been engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits. The maiden name of the sub-
ject's mother was Sarah Way, a member of an
old and well-known family of New York, who
passed the greater part of her life on the home
farm, near the place referred to above. The
Doctor's childhood and youth, under the whole-
some discipline of the farm, were similar in most
respects to the experiences of the majority of
boys reared in close touch with nature in the
country, and he grew up strong in body and
resolute in purpose. He received a prettv thor-
ough mental training in the schools of his native
place and after assisting his father with the work
of the farm until his twentieth year, left home to
take uj) the study of medicine, which he began
in 1884. Subsequently he entered the Louisville
IMedical College, Louisville, Kentucky, from
which he was graduated in 1888, and immedi-
ately thereafter he came to South Dakota, in
search of a favorable opening, locating in due
time in Minnehaha county, where he practiced
with encouraging success until his removal in
1890 to Garretson. Since the latter year the Doc-
tor has risen rapidly in his profession and now
takes high rank among the leading physicians
and surgeons in the eastern part of the state, hav-
ing a large and flourishing practice.
Dr. Locke prepared himself for his life work
by rigid discipline and critical research, and dur-
ing his preliminary study and collegiate course
neglected no favorable opportunity to increase his
knowledge and fit himself for the practice. He
has never ceased being a student, and ever since
opening an ofifice of his own his leisure has been
devoted closely to study and original investiga-
tion, the result being a continued advancement in
all branches of the profession. While making
every other consideration subordinate to his
chosen calling. Dr. Locke has not been a passive
spectator of current events in his adopted state,
but with a commendable public spirit, he earlv
liccame an active participant in the same. As
an ardent Republican and leader of the party, he
has made his influence felt in a number of local,
district and state campaigns, and in recognition
of his services he was elected in 1901 to represent
Minnehaha county in the legislature of South
Dakota. His record as a member of that body
was eminently satisfactory to his constituents and
to the people of the state, but, not desiring further
honors in this line, his legislative experiences
ended with the one term for which he was chosen.
The Doctor served two terms as mayor of Gar-
retson, and for several years has been a member
of the city school board. By diligent attention to
his profession and by the exercise of the busi-
ness qualities for which he is also distinguished,
he has been fortunate in a financial way, owning
at this time in addition to his city property and the
respectable fortune at his command, over nine
hundred acres of fine land in South Dakota,
which is increasing in value with each succeed-
ing year.
Dr. Locke has been twice married, the first
time in the fall of 1889 to Miss Edith Butts, of
.St. James, Minnesota, a union terminated by the
death of the wife after a brief but happy wedded
experience of one and a half years' duration.
Subsequently, July 10, 1895, he contracted a mat-
rimonial alliance with Miss ]\Iary L. Conan, who
has borne him the following children: Edith,
Lillian. Clavton and Donald.
OLE S. SWENSON, the capable incumbent
of the ofifice of warden of the South Dakota state
penitentiary, in Sioux Falls, and one of the
highly honored citizens of the state, is a native
of Hallingdahl, Norway, where he was born on
the 9th of November, 1845, being a son of Swen
and Julia (Moen) Swenson, both of whom were
likewise native of Norway, though both families
968
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
were of Scotch extraction in the respective
paternal lines, both great-grandfathers of the
subject of this sketch having been Scotchmen
who emigrated from their native land to Nor-
\vay. The father of the subject was engaged in
farming in Norway until 1857, when he emi-
grated with his family to the United States, set-
tling in XicoUet county, Alinnesota, in which
state he passed the remainder of his life, becom-
ing a successful fanner. His death occurred in
1870, and the mother died in April, 1903. Of
their six children five are yet living.
Ole S. Swenson was reared to the age of
twelve years on the old home farm in Norway,
where he secured his early educational training,
and he then accomi>anied his parents on their
emigration to America, being reared to maturity
in ^Minnesota and there availing himself of the
advantages of the public schools of Nicollet
county. In 1863 he went to St. Peter, that state,
where he secured a position as clerk in a general
store. In 1876 he engaged in the hardware
business there, but one year later he removed his
stock to Grand Meadow, Minnesota, where he
was successfully engaged in business until 1880,
when he disposed of his interests there and came
to Sioux Falls, arriving here on the 15th of Sep-
tember of that year. In this city Mr. Swenson
established himself in the same line of enterprise,
in which he successfully continued until 1893,
when he sold out, soon afterward purchasing an
interest in the flour mill at Valley Springs, this
county, and with the operation of this plant he
was successful until 1902.
Mr. Swenson has given an unfaltering sup-
port to the Republican party from the time of
attaining his legal majority and has been an
active worker in its cause. In 1886 he was
elected treasurer of Minnehaha county, and was
chosen as his own successor in the election of
1888, thus serving four years and giving a most
faithful and able administration of the fiscal
affairs of this important county. From 1898 until
1902 he was chairman of the Republican central
committee of the county. He has attained a
position of distinction in the ]\Tasonic fraternity,
in which noble and time-honored institution he
has advanced to the thirty-second degree of the
Scottish Rite, being also identified with the
Mystic Shrine and enjoying marked popularity
in the fraternit)-. In May, 1901, Mr. Swenson,
upon the recommendation of Governor Herreid,
received from the state board of charities and
corrections the appointment of warden of the
state penitentiary, in which office he has ser\^ed
with most perfect efficiency, proving a strict
disciplinarian and able executive and showing-
that deep humanitarian spirit which is so
essential in dealing with those of criminal in-
stincts.
In 1870 yir. Swenson was united in marriage
to Miss Celia Thompson, of Nicollet county. Min-
nesota, who died in 1878. leaving two children.
Arthur Ward, now residing in Winnipeg.
Canada, and Josephine, who is at the present
time in Europe. On the 20th of August, 1880,
was solemnized the marriage of ]\Ir. Swenson
to Miss Eliza S. Ranney, of Grand Meadow,
Minnesota, and they are the parents of three
children, William L., Norma and Ernest Stuart.
JOHN A. :\IUNRO, president of the \\^i!-
mot Land and Loan Company, of Wilmot. was
born in Nova Scotia, October 18, 1853, the son
of Donald and Nancy Munro, the father a native
of Scotland and by occupation a stone-mason
and contractor. John A. attended the country
schools, and later pursued the higher branches
in the Pictou Academy and took up the study of
pharmacy under the direction of a druggist of
his native place. After becoming familiar with
the business, he went to Minnesota, where he
followed his chosen calling from 1878 to 1879.
and in the latter year came to South Dakota,
and established a drug house at Big Stone City,
which he conducted very profitably during the
six years following.
In 1883 Mr. Munro was appointed clerk of
court for Roberts county, which office he held
for four years. In 1885 he removed to Wilmot.
where he has resided ever since. During his
term as clerk of court he devoted his leisure time
to the study of law and was admitted to practice
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
969
in 1888, but did not engage very actively in the
practice, turning his attention rather to real es-
tate and banking, which he found more to his
taste and much more profitable. He is a direc-
tor of the First State Bank of Wilmot, and to
him is due the credit of organizing the Wilmot
Land and Loan Company, of Wilmot, of which
he IS president at present, and which, as much
as any other agency, has tended to the settlement
and material development of Roberts county and
other parts of eastern Dakota.
Mr. Munro ever since coming west has been
actively identified with the affairs of Wilmot
and Roberts cnunty. He was sergeant-at-arms
in the house of representatives during the legis-
lative session of 1885, was largely instrumental in
carrying his county and district that year for the
Republican party, and as a politician his influ-
ence has been strong and far-reaching. As a
citizen he is progressive and thoroughlv up to
date, lends his encouragement and material sup-
port to everything making for the public good
and having faith in the future of his adopted
state, is manfully doing his part to make it come
up to his high ideal of what a commonwealth
should be.
;\Ir. JMunro belongs to the ^ilasonic fraternity,
in which he now holds ofiice of junior warden,
and is also an active member of the Ancient Or-
der of L"nited Workmen and the Lidependent Or-
der of Odd Fellows, being at this time district
deputy of the last named organization. In the
month of December, 1892, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Munro and Miss Carrie E.
Phanso, of Pennsylvania, a union blessed with
five offspring, namely : Kenneth Donald, Gladys
Irene, Carroll Jean. Doris Ella and Alyrtle Lu-
cile.
WALTER A. BURLEIGH, second delegate
in congress, born in Waterville, Maine, October
2^, 1820. Was a physician and lawyer. Agent to
Yankton Indians, 1861-65. Delegate in con-
gress, 1865-69, several times member of ter-
ritorial legislature and state senator. Died at
Yankton, 1896.
WILLIAM FRANCIS TEEMAN BUSH-
NELL was born at Peru, Illinois, December 3,
1857. At fourteen years of age his parents re-
moved to Evanston and there he attended the
Northwestern University for two years. He
possessed great natural musical talent and much
attention was given to his musical education
both at Evanston and at home. At that period
he hoped to make music his life work. His
father was a government contractor in the con-
struction of lighthouses and life-saving stations
on the great lakes and at seventeen he was given
charge of workmen upon these structures and
for three years was so engaged upon his father's
undertakings. At the age of twenty he set out
upon his long cherished musical career, teach-
ing, composing and publishing his compositions
and giving concerts through Illinois, Iowa and
Dakota, whither he came in 1884 and established
himself at Huron. In his boyhood he had earned
his first money in a printing office and that class
of work still had some attractions for him and,
finding the Dakota Farmer struggling for an
existence, he took it up and soon became the
owner of the property and under his manage-
ment, though it required long years of untiring
effort and unremitting kidustry, he made a splen-
did success of it. He was most discriminating in
his efforts to secure for his journal a standing
in the confidence of his readers and was
tenacious in his purpose to exclude from it every-
thing of a questionable or misleading character.
Mr. Greeley relates a circumstance in point. It
was during one of the hard years in the reaction-
ary period following the boom. Times were
everywhere hard and cash for ordinary expenses
almost unobtainable. One morning Mr. Bush-
nell was opening his mail in Mr. Greeley's pres-
ence when a check for a large sum dropped from
a letter. It was from a commission house of
questionable standing enclosing an advertisement
which it desired run in the Farmer. Mr. Bush-
nell promptly refused the advertisement and re-
turned the check, although the advertisement of
that firm at the very time was found in all of the
leading farm papers of the country. He was
of an intense and enthusiastic temnerament and
970
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
most of the great farmers' enterprises owed their
promotion to his initiative. Among these are the
State Agricultural Society and the state fair, the
State Dairymen's and Buttermakers' Society,
the Woolgrowers' .\ssociation, the Farmers'
Alliance and kindred organizations.
From boyhood he was a consistent member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and con-
tinued this relation throughout his life, ever
foremost in every movement requiring effort and
money. For twelve years he was superintendent
of the Sabbath school and his musical talent
made him an indispensable member of the choir
and a leader in all musical functions of the
church. He gave his time, money and energy
unreservedly to missionary work and his chari-
ties were only limited by his means. He was in-
tenselv interested in the promotion of the great
moral reforms, and especially in efforts looking
ti3 the suppression of the evils of the liquor
traffic. In the campaign for prohibition accom-
panying the adoption of the state constitution he
accepted the most burdensome position of sec-
retary and field manager, and, practically setting
aside his personal business, took hold with his
tireless vigor, directing the movement of the
speakers, the arrangements for meetings and all
of the tiresome details of the campaign and the
splendid victory at the polls was due in a large
measure to the energ}- and enthusiasm with
which he inspired the workers throughout the
state.
r\Ir. Bushnell was married at Huron, on June
2, 1886, to Miss Blanche Van Pelt, of Indiana,
who throughout the remaining years of his active
life was his sympathetic assistant and advisor.
To them three children were born, Paul, Fred-
erick and Helen.
On August 16, 1900, almost for the first time
in his persistent struggle to permanently establish
the Farmer, having called his brother-in-law,
N. E. Carnine, to assist him in the management
of the rapidly growing enterprise, Mr. Bushnell
felt that he was justified in leaving his post and
taking his family for a short vacation. They
stTrtcd for the mountains of Colorado. .\t
Omaha he was detained by an attack of ap- ,
pendicitis, but rallying after a few days went on
to Colorado Springs, where he was again taken
j ill and died after a day of intense suffering,
j which he bore with the courage and fortitude of
the true Christian. His remains repose in River-
side cemetery at Aberdeen. His memory will
long be held in reverence by the people of South
Dakota as a model of high Christian character
and true manhood.
WELLINGTON J. ANDREWS, one of the
well-known and honored citizens of Sioux Falls,
is a native of the dominion of Canada, having
been born near the city of Ottawa, on the 14th of
April. 1S65. and being a son of William H. and
Eliza Ann (Johnson) .Andrews, who were like-
wise born in Canada, where they continued to
maintain their home until 1874, when thev came
as pioneers to what is now the state of South
Dakota, locating near Scotland, Bon Homme
county, where the father took up government
land and developed a good farm, becoming one
of the representative citizens of that section of
the state.
The subject of this review received his rudi-
mentary education in the common schools of his
native county, and was nine years of age at the
time of his parents' removal to South Dakota.
Here he was reared to manhood under the sturdy
discipline of the pioneer farm, the while contin-
uing to attend the public schools until 1885,
when he entered the academy at Scotland, where
he was graduated as a member of the class of
1886. Thereafter he continued to assist in the
work and management of the home farm until
1886, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he
went to Parkston, Hutchinson county, where he
was engaged in the agricultural implement busi-
ness and dealing in live stock until 1893, when
he returned to Scotland, where he opened a gen-
eral merchandise store, liuilding up a successful
business and there continuing operations in the
line until 1898, when he sold out and came to
Sioux Falls, where he established himself in the
grocery business, in which he has ever since con-
tinued, catering to a large and representative
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
trade and having a finely equipped store. His es-
tablishment is modern in all its appointments,
and the stock carried is exceptionally comprehen-
sive and select, while he is recognized as an en-
ergetic' and progressive business man and as one
well worthy of the uniform confidence and es-
teem in which he is held. In politics Mr. An-
drews has ever given an uncompromising alle-
giance to the Democratic party, has taken an act-
ive part in the promotion of its cause, hav-
ing been a delegate to various state and county
conventions, and having been called to serve in a
number of minor ofiices, though he has never
sought personal preferment in the line. Frater-
nally he is identified with Unity Lodge, No. 130,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Scotland
Chapter, No. 31, Royal Arch Masons; Parkston
Lodge, No. 99, Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows ; and Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262. Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks.
On the 8th of February, 1890. Mr. Andrews
was united in mirriTge to Miss Persis U. Tyler,
who was born in Des Moines, Iowa, being a
dnup-hter of L. S. Tyler, who has been a resident
of Sioux Falls since 1892. Mr. and ^Irs. An-
drews have one daughter, Edith Alice.
EARL V. P.ORR, M. D.. was horn August
2. 1873, in Richland. Wisconsin, and is the son
of Alartin L. and Mary (Wailing) Bobb, the
father a native of Pennsylvania, the mother of
Wisconsin. Martin Bobb came to Dakota a num-
ber of years ago and settled in Davison county,
with the public affairs of which part of the state
he became quite actively identified ; he served six
years as clerk of the county court, took a prom-
inent part in advancing the material interests of
his community, and was a man of intelligence
and wide influence and withal a most excellent
and praiseworthy citizen. As a leader of the
Republican party he became prominent in state
as well as in local affairs and in the private walks
of life enjoyed the esteem of all classes. He died
in Davison corntv. in October, too.?, at the age
nf sixty years, leiving t'l iiinurn his loss a widow,
who is still living, and six cliilih-en. of whom the
subject of this review is the second in order of
birth. Dr. B. A. Bobb, the oldest of the sons of
Martin and Mary Bobb, is a distinguished physi-
cian of South Dakota, practicing his profession
in the city of Mitchell and at the present time
he is president of the State Medical Association.
Dr. Earl V. Bobb was about nine years old
when his parents moved from Wisconsin to
South Dakota and since 1882 his life has been
closely identified with the latter state. After
attending the public schools for some years, he
entered the University of South Dakota, where
JTe finished his literary education, and then be-
came a student of the Northwestern LTniversity
at Evanston, from the medical department of
which he was graduated with high honors in
1899. Preparatory to the general practice of his
profession, the Doctor did a large amount of
hospital work under the direction of some of the
most distinguished medical talent of the day,
after which he opened an oi^ce in Sisseton. South
Dakota, where he has since built up a very exten-
sive professional business, commanding at this
time a patronage second in magnitude and im-
portance to that of no other physician in the
city or county.
Dr. Robb prepared himself for his life work
bv careful study and critical research, and being a
close student, he keeps in touch with the trend of
modern professional thought, is familiar with the
latest investigations and discoveries in the pro-
fession and possesses the discernment and tact
to select what is most valuable of this knowledge
and use it in his practice.
In addition to his professional labors. Dr.
Robb. since coming west, has been actively iden-
tified with the public and business affairs of Sis-
seton and Roberts counties, and at the present time
is holding the office of coroner. He is stanchly
Republican in his political views, manifests a
deep and abiding interest in his party and has
contributed not a little to its success in the
county, district and state.
In the fall of 1902 Dr. Bo1il> purchased the
leading drug store in Sisseton and is now con-
ducting the same in connection with his prac-
tice and doing a verv lucrative business. He is
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
a member of the State Medical Society, the Aber-
deen District Medical Society, and other organi-
zations whose object is to promote a higher
standard of efficiency in the medical ranks of
South Dakota. He is also interested in secret
fraternal and benevolent work, belonging to the
?iIasonic lodge at Sisseton and the Knights of
Pythias, in both of which orders he is recognized
as an influential member and a zealous worker.
On September 25. 1900, Dr. Bobb and Miss
Elizabeth Morton, of Chicago, Illinois, daughter
of John Morton, of that city, were united in the
bonds of wedlock. Dr. and Mrs. Bobbs have a
beautiful and attractive home in Sisseton which
is well known to the best society circles of the
citv, and both are popular with the people and
have manv warm friends and admirers, here and
elsewliere.
ANFIN J. BERDAHL was born in Nor-
way, December 12, 1852, and when about four
vears old was brought by his parents to the
United States, from which time until i860 he
lived at the family home in Winneshiek county,
Iowa. In the latter year he was taken to Hous-
ton county, Minnesota, thence six years later to
Fillmore county, that state, where he remained
until 1873. the meantime receiving his educa-
tion in the common schools and his more prac-
tical training as an assistant on his father's
farm. Leaving the parental roof in 1873. ^^^
came to South Dakota and the following year
took up a homestead in Edison township, Min-
nehaha county, which he at once proceeded to
improve and reduce to cultivation, and upon
which he continued to reside until the fall of
7887. when he rented his farm and. returning to
^linnesota, engaged in the mercantile business
at the town of Pipestone. One year later Mr.
P.erdahl moved his stock to Jasper, in the same
state, where he conducted a successful trade until
the spring of i8go, at which time he returned
to his Dakota farm and during the ensuing two
vears devoted his attention to agriculture and
stock raising. Renting his land at the expiration
of the_time noted, he established a general mer-
cantile business in Garretson, where he has since
lived and prospered, building up a large and
lucrative trade the meanwhile and taking dis-
tinctive precedence among the leading merchants
of the city.
Mr. Berdahl's domestic experience dates
from 1878, on March loth of which year he
entered the marriage relation with Miss Caroline
Christianson, a native of Fillmore county, Min-
nesota, where her parents, both born in Norway,
settled in an early day. To ^Ir. and Mrs.
Berdahl five children have been born, one of
whom, a daughter by the name of Christiana,
died at the early age of four years ; those living
are Christian. Alfred, Clara and Elmer, who with
their parents constitute a family of eminent re-
spectability and high social standing.
Mr. Berdahl at different times has been
called upon to assume responsible official status,
having served as treasurer of Edison township,
being the second man elected to the office in that
jurisdiction, and he has also been identified for
a number of years with the educational inter-
ests of Garretson. being at this time president of
the city school board, besides holding the posi-
tion of alderman. In the conduct of his busi-
ness affairs Mr. Berdahl is prompt and method-
ical, not given to speculation, being satisfied with
gradual advancement and sure gains. As a citi-
zen he is enterprising to the extent of encour-
aging every laudable movement for the general
good, and his deep and abiding interest in the
social, educational and mo-al welfare of the com-
munity has resulted in substantial advancement
along these various lines.
ANDREW L. COYLE, M. D.— Among the
able exemplars of the nledical profession in the
state is Dr. Coyle, a young man of marked intel-
lectual ability, thoroughly informed in the sci-
ences of medicine and surgery, having had ex-
ceptional advantages in the prosecution of his
studies in technical lines, while he has been estab-
lished in the practice of his profession in Plankin-
ton, Aurora county, since 1003, securing a repre-
sentative support from the initiation of his labors
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
here, by reason of his professional ability and
genial and gracions personality.
The Doctor is a native of Jersey City, Xew
Jersey, where he was born on the 15th of Feb-
rnary, 1874, while he was thus reared imder met-
ropolitan surroundings and influences. After
completing the curriculum of the public schools
he was matriculated in Williams College, at Wil-
liamstown, Massachusetts, where he completed
the scientific course and was graduated as a
member of the class of 1894. He then entered
the medical department of the University of
^Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated
in i8q8, receiving his coveted degree of Doctor
of Medicine. Immediately after his graduation
he received the appointment of contract surgeon
in the United States army, serving in that capac-
ity for more than two years, when he resigned
and made a tour of Europe, visiting England,
France, Germany and other countries and availing
himself of the advantages offered for study and
investigation in the leading hospitals and col-
leges. After returning to the United States he
made a trip to South America, where he remained
about two years, at the expiration of which he
came to South Dakota and established himself in
practice in Plankinton, where he has since been
actively engaged in practice. He is an independ-
ent in politics, and has not yet assumed connu-
bial bonds. He is a member of the South Dakota
Medical Association and the Phi Beta Pi college
fraternitv.
RICHARD DUNLOP, one of the pioneer
mining men of the Black Hills, and now in
charge of the Mineral Point stamp mill, of the
Homestake Mining Company, at Central City, is
a native of the city of Belfast, Ireland, where he
was born on the 15th of February, 1855, being a
son of James and Mary (Clark) Dunlop, who
were likewise born and reared in that city, where
their marriage was solemnized. In 1857 they
came to America and after passing a short
period of time in the state of New York came
west to Iowa, locating in Scott county, where
Mr. Dunlop continued to be engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits until his death, which occurred
in 1877, while his devoted wife passed away
in 1892. They were folk of sterling character
and commanded unqualified regard in the com-
munity which was so long their home. Their
religious faith was that of the Presbyterian
church, and in politics Mr. Dunlop was a Re-
publican. Of the six children in the family all
are vet living, the subject of this review having
been the fifth in order of birth.
Richard Dunlop was reared on the homestead
farm in Iowa and received his educational dis-
cipline in the public schools of his locality. In
1872 he went to Colorado, where he remained
for a few years, devoting his attention princi-
pally to mining. In 1877 he came to the Black
Hills, being numbered among the venturesome
spirits who braved the dangers incidental to
making the trip to this section, then isolated from
civilization bv many leagues of plains, infested
bv the warlike and implacable Indians whose
originally was the domain. From Qieyenne,
Wyoming, he came through bv team to the Hills,
in company with a part\- of other men, and they
had little trouble with the Indians while enroute,
reaching their destination in Deadwood, in
March. There Mr. Dunlop engaged in placer
minine for the Whitewood Flume Company,
about five miles below Deadwood, a portion of
the time working for himself, and he was suc-
cessful in his efforts in both directions. In
1879 'le entered the employ of the Homestake
Mining Company, working as amalgamator and
in other positions of responsibility, and in 1887
he was given charge of the Father DeSmet mill,
owned bv the company and named in honor of
one of the heroic missionan^ priests of the
Catholic church in the pioneer days in the north-
west. He has since been the superintendent of
this mill, which is now known as the Mineral
Point, which is equipped with one hundred
stamps and which is running to its full capacity
since the completion of the auxiliarv cyanide
plant, in 1902. Since coming to the Hills Mr.
Dunlop has given more or less attention to
prospecting and has become interested in a num-
ber of promising properties. In 1892 he made
974
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
a trip through Central America for the purpose,
primarily, of looking over the mining properties
in that section, and he has in his possession some
fine specimens of gold-bearing quartz which he
secured there. In politics he gives his al-
legiance to the Republican party, and fraternally
he has attained the capitular degrees in the Ma-
sonic order and is identified with the Modern
Woodmen of America.
On the i8th of October. 1882, :\Ir. Dunlop
married Miss Jennie Baker, who was born and
reared in Michigan and who died in April,
1884, leaving one son, Richard F., who is now
attending St. John's Military Academy at Dela-
field, Wisconsin. On the 26th of Alarch, 1890,
I\Ir. Dunlop was united in marriage to Miss
Laura Davidson, who was bom in Johnson
county, Indiana, and who was a resident of
Lead City at the time of her marriage. No chil-
dren have been born of this union.
FRANK ABT was born in the kingdom of
Bavaria, Germany, on the 28th of August, 1838,
and is a son of Francis and Mary (Schneider)
Abt, both of whom were likewise native of Ba-
varia, where the father followed the vocation of
stone-mason until his death, the subject being a
child at the time. In the family were two chil-
dren, of whom he is the elder, his sister Katharine
being- deceased. Mr. Abt attended the excellent
national schools of his fatherland until he had
attained the age of fourteen years, and then en-
tered upon an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's
trade, becoming a skilled workman, while he also
served the required term in the Bavarian militia.
Each county furnishes its quota to the German
army, and the selection is made by drawing lots
from the various local military organizations. Mr.
Abt drew the second highest nuinber and thus
was not called into active service. He was offered
twelve hundred dollars for his chance, but re-
fused the same, as he desired to come to Amer-
ica. Had he thus disposed of his exemption priv-
ilege he would have been required to serve six
years in the army. In 1861 he bade adieu to
home and fatherland and set forth to seek his
fortunes in America, landing in New York and
thence coming westward to Davenport, Iowa,
where he was engaged in the work of his trade
for the ensuing four weeks, at the expiration of
which, on the 23d of June, 1861, in response to
President Lincoln's first call, he gave significant
evidence of his loyalty to the country of his re-
cent adoption, by enlisting in Company E, Sec-
ond Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, commanded by
Colonel Elliott. With his command he pro-
ceeded to St. Louis and there they remained in
Benton Barracks about four weeks, when they
started for the front, having an engagement with
the enemy near Paducah, at the mouth of the
Ohio river. Thence they came up the river to
Pittsburg Landing, where they remained some
time, participating in the engagement at that
place, after which they went on to Corinth, ]\Iis-
sissippi, where, under General Rosecrans. they
assisted in defending the city against the attacks
by the forces under General Price. Their next
engagement was at New Madrid, and at Tipton
the command succeeded in surrounding the en-
emy during the night and captured thirteen hun-
dred prisoners. Thence they proceeded to Nash-
ville, Tennessee, where our subject was incapac-
itated by illness, resulting primarily from a
wound received at Corinth, and he was sent to
the marine hospital at Evansville, Indiana, where
he received his honorable discharge in .\ugust,
1862. He then returned to Davenport, Iowa,
where he remained until February of the follow-
ing year, when he started for the newly discov-
ered gold fields of Colorado, where he remained
a brief interval and then started for Idaho, in
company with a party of about one hundred
men. They had a skirmish with the Indians
while en route but lost none of their number,
though a party three days ahead of them
lost three men. He engaged in prospecting for
gold in Idaho for several months and then came
eastward into Montana, stopping in Bannock,
the original capital of the territory, and thence
proceeding to the chief mining camp, Virginia
City, in Alder Gulch. The country was at the
time infested with border outlaws and other des-
perate characters who were a constant menace
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
975
to life and property, and it became necessary
for the better class of citizens to take drastic
measures for protection, resulting in the organ-
ization of the vigilantes, of which Mr. Abt became
a member. It is unnecessary to enter into de-
tails in regard to the action justly taken by these
bands of law-abiding citizens, who had recourse
to severe means of dealing with the offenders,
for all is a part of the written history of the lo-
cality and period, but it may be said that through
their efforts many desperate characters were
brought to expiate for their many crimes, Mr.
.\bt having personally witnessed the hanging of
thirty-three men of this type. Each of the ac-
cused was granted counsel and a fair trial, and
tlie vigilantes represented the very best element
in the coinmunity, as may be understood when
we state that in Virginia City their attorney was
Colonel Wilbur F. Sanders, who later became
United States senator and who still resides in
Helena, Montana, a venerable pioneer and dis-
tinguished citizen.
Mr. Abt bought a placer claim in Alder
Gulch, and worked the same at intervals during
the ensuing year, and then removed to Silver
r.ow. where he remained about a year, being
fairly successful in his mining venture there.
He then returned to Virginia City and purchased
a claim on German Flat, working the same until
May 12, 1866, when the diggings were washed
out bv a severe flood, resulting from a cloud-
burst. On the i6th of the same month he started
for Helena, where he engaged in the boot and
shoe business, doing a prosperous business and
there remaining until 1876. when he started for
the Black Hills, coming down the Missouri river
from Fort Benton to Bismarck, and thence pro-
ceeding overland with a party of more than one
hundred men, who made up a large wagon train.
The first night out they camped at Little Heart,
and at three o'clock in the morning were attacked
by Indians, who stampeded their horses, secur-
ing thirteen head. A party of fifty men started
in pursuit and captured all the horses with the
exception of two. returning at four o'clock in the
afternoon of the succeeding day. That night
they camped at Oak Hill, having a guard about
the camp, as did they each succeeding night, but
they had no further difficulty with the Indians
and finally reaching their destination. In July
Mr. Abt located at Gold Run, where he became
associated with John Roberts, Thomas Bell and
Frederick Istelhurst in the purchase of a placer
claim, below the present town of Lead, for a con-
sideration of three thousand dollars. They
worked the claim successfully during that season,
and thereafter the subject continued to give his
attention to placer mining, in various localities,
for the ensuing three years. He then located
some quartz claims, of which he finally disposed,
after which he engaged in the hotel business in
Lead, conducting what was known as the Abt
hotel, which was a popular resort in the early
days. In 1882 he retired from the hotel business
and resumed quartz mining, to which he devoted
his attention until 1886, when he was appointed
postmaster at Lead, serving four years, since
which time he has lived practically retired,
though he is still interested in a number of valu-
able quartz-mining properties.
Mr. Abt early became prominent in local- af-
fairs of a public nature, and has been called upon
to serve in various positions of trust. He is a
stanch Democrat in politics, and in i8go he was
elected a member of the village council, serving
four years, while in 1900 he was chosen mayor of
Lead, of which office he was incumbent two
years, giving a progressive and business-like ad-
ministration of the municipal government. Un-
der his administration the city sewerage system
was installed and the work of paving the streets
initiated. Mr. Abt is a member of a number of
fraternal organizations, having been the first
grand vice-chancellor of the Knights of Pythias
in the state ; being at the present time senior sag-
amore of his camp of the Improved Order of Red
Men, and also commander of E. M. Stanton
Post, Po. 81, Grand Army of the Republic, while
he is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks and the Ancient Order
of United Workmen.
On the 4th of :\Iarch. 1867, Mr. Abt was
united in marriage to ]\Iiss Mary Distel, who
was born in Germany and who came to jMontana
976
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
with her brother. She proved a true and devoted
wife and helpmeet during the long period of
thirty years, having been summoned into eternal
rest on the lOth of March. 1899. only a few
days before the thirtieth anniversary of their
marriage. Of the children of this union we enter
the following brief record : John is engaged in
mining in Butte, Montana ; Frank resides in
Chicago ; ^^''illiam is a civil engineer, with head-
quarters in Seattle : Annie, who became the wife
of R. H. Purcell. died November 18. 1900. and
Mary remains with her father in the pleasant
home in Lead.
JOHN W. MARTIN, one of the representa-
tive citizens of Watertown. was born at Scales
Mound, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, on the 9th of
October, 1856, being a son of Henry and Ketu-
rah (Thomas) Martin, both of whom were bnrn
and reared in England, whence they emigrated
to the United States at the age of thirty and
twenty-four years respectively, he becoming one
of the prosperous and influential farmers of the
state of Illinois. Henry Martin died at Scales
Mound, Illinois, February 15, iqoo, while Mrs.
]\Iartin died April 30, 1894.
After completing the curriculum of the pub-
lic schools of his native country the subject of
this review continued his studies in the German-
English College at Galena, Illinois, and later en-
tered the State Normal School at Plattville, Wis-
consin, where he ably prepared himself for the
pedagogic profession, to which he thereafter de-
voted himself, as a teacher in the public schools
of Illinois, until August. 1885, when he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota, locating
in Watertown and becoming identified with the
rea:l-estate and banking business. He was one
of the organizers and directors of the Dakota
Loan and Trust Company, of Watertown, and
of the Watertown National Bank. In 1889 he
was elected cashier of the Watertown Nationa
Bank, in which" capacity he served four years
at the expiration of which he individually en-
gaged in the real-estate business in Watertown
with which important line of enterprise he has
since been prominently identified, his transactions
having reached a wide scope, while upon his
books are at all times represented the most de-
sirable investments, including farm lands in vari-
ous sections of the state, and also improved and
unimproved town and city ])roperty.
From the time of attaining his legal majority
Mr. ^lartin has been an uncompromising advo-
cate and supporter of the principles and policies
of the Democratic party, and he has labored zeal-
ously for the promotion of its cause in South Da-
kota. He served for two years, 1891-92, as mayor
of Watertown, giving a most able and busi-
ness-like administration of the municipal gov-
ernment, and in 1900 he was one of the presi-
dential electors of this state on the Democratic
ticket. In 1902 he was honored by his party with
the nomination for governor of the state, but in
the ensuing election met defeat, in common with
the ].art\- ■L:^;k^:t in general throughout the com-
monwealth. Since 1900 he has been president
of the South Dakota Business Men's Association.
a strong organization and one which exercises
most beneficent functions in furthering the best
interests of the great state. Fraternally he is
identified with Kampeska Lodge, No. 13. Free
and Accepted Masons ; Watertown Chapter. No.
12. Royal Arch Masons: Watertown Command-
ery. No. 7, Knights Templar; Tryschocoton
Lodge, No. 17. Knights of Pythias; Watertown
Lodge, No. 24. Ancient Order of United Work-
men ; Kampeska Camp, No. 2031, Modern Wood-
men of America, and Lodge No. 838, Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks.
ISAAC STAINBROOK. — Conspicuous
among the leading farmers and prominent citi-
zens of Hutchinson county. South Dakota, is
Isaac Stainbrook. than whom few men in this
part of the state are as well known or as highly
esteemed. His father was John Stainbrook, a
native of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, and
his mother, who bore the maiden name of Susan
Keiser, was born in Westmoreland county, the
same state. John Stainbrook was a farmer and
millwrisrht. in addition to which vocations he
J(_)HN W. MARTIN.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
also manufactured spinning-wheels, made boots
and shoes, worked at stone and brick masonry, —
in fact was a mechanical genius who could turn
his hand to almost an_y kind of skillful work-
manship. He left his native state in 1845 for
the west, migrating to Dane county, Wisconsin,
where he purchased land from the government,
developed a good farm and spent the remainder
of his life on the same, dying in the year 1872.
His widow subsequently came to South Dakota,
where her death occurred, in March, 1880. Mr.
Stainbrook was a man of considerable promi-
nence in his various places of residence, and he
was honored at different times with official posi-
tions, among which were those of justice of the
]icTce, township treasurer and others. He was,
with his excellent wife, a faithful, devoted and
lilieral member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. The family of John and Susan Stain-
lirook originally consisted of ten children, four j
of whom are living at the present time, the sub- \
ject of this sketch being the oldest of the sur-
vivors; the others are John, of Hutchinson
cnuntv; Solomon, a resident of Hanson county,
this state ; and Samuel, whose home is in Clay
county. South Dakota. jLll4S'3:4.'i 1
Tsnac Stainbrook was born in ]Meade town-
ship, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th 1
day of February, 1831, and there spent the first
fourteen years of his life, removing with his |
parents to Wisconsin in 1845. His early educa- !
tional advantages were limited and by reason of
his time being required at home he had few op-
portunities to become acquainted with books.
Reared ' to agricultural pursuits, he naturally
turned his attention to the same after leaving I
home and l)eginning life for himself, and he con-
tinued t(T till the soil in Wisconsin until his re- i
niovrd In Ti )\va in 1875. After spending one year
in .\(luir county, that state, he changed his abode
to the count\' of Buchanan where he lived three
years, at the expiration of which time he
moved to Hutchinson county, South Dakota,
and settled on the place where he has since re-
sided and where he now owns a beautiful and
well-improved farm of four hundred and forty
acres, which has been brought to its present 1
high state of cultivation principall\' 1\\- the labor
of his own hands.
When ]\Ir. Stainbrook came to Hutchinson
county the country was comparatively wild, there
being no roads, while the settlers were few and
far between. He worked diligently to get a
start, experienced the vicissitudes and hard-
ships peculiar to pioneer life in the west, gradu-
ally reduced his land to cultivation, and at in-
tervals made improvements as his means would
admit until in due season he found himself the
owner of a beautiful and well-tilled farm and a
fine home, which in point of location and attract-
iveness is now considered one of the most desir-
able country residences in the county. His suc-
cess in material things has. resulted i-n a fortune
sufficiently ample to place him in independent
circumstances and insure a competence for the
future, while his high standing among his neigh-
bors and fellow citizens gives him a place in
their confidence and esteem, such as few of his
contemiioraries enjoy. l\Tr. Stainbrook is a
Democrat in politics, and as such was elected a
member of the board of county commissioners,
in -which capacity he served very effectively for
a period of three years, and in addition to this
responsible position he also spent a number of
venrs on the school board of his township. In
religion he is a Methodist, in which church he
was born and reared and the teachings of which
have had a little to do in fonning his character
and shaping his life and destiny.
In the year 1854 the subject contracted a
marriage with Miss Elizabeth Middleton, of
Elkhart, Iowa, the union terminating in 1897.
The fruits of this union were ten "children whose
names are as follows : ]\Iahala, married and liv-
ing in Hutchinson county; Rohenna, also mar-
ried; Malvina, now Mrs. Carl Braatz, of this
county; George W., who married Frances Klatz
and is engaged in farming and stock raising in
the same part of the state ; Albert, also a fanner
of Hutchinson countv and a married man, his
wife having formerlv been Miss Anna Klatz;
Harriett, wife of William Adams ; Elizabeth,
who married Charles Thompson ; Emma, now
the wife of Charles Michaelson, lives in Hutch-
978
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
inson county, as do also Andrew J. and John
E., both of whom are married and the heads of
famihes. the former choosing for a wife Mabel
Harrington, the latter entering the bonds of
wedlock with Miss Lorinda Biers.
EMIL FAUST, of Lead, is a scion of illus-
trious German stock, and is a native of Hessen
Cassel, German3^ where he was born on the nth
of December, 1838, being a son of George and
Lucia (Rodman) Faust, who were likewise
born in the province mentioned, the maternal
grandfather of the subject having been an
eminent physician and surgeon in that section
of the great empire. The paternal grandfather.
Faust, was colonel of the Twenty-first Hessian
Regiment, and served under Napoleon in Russia,
while under General Blucher he participated in
the historic battle of Waterloo, having received
honorable mention for distinguished service under
the great French emperor, the first Napoleon. The
father of the subject was a man of prominence in
his native province, having there served as state
treasurer for the long period of fifty-two years
and .having wielded marked influence in public
and civic affairs. He resigned the office men-
tioned during the revolution of 1848. but when
the government again gained control he was re-
appointed to the position. During the revolu-
tion he succeeded in concealing a large amount
of government funds, which he returned upon the
re-establishment of the stable government. Of
the six children m the family the subject of this
review was the second in order of birth, and of
the number four are yet living.
Mr. Faust received his early education in
the theological seminary at Fulda, which he at-
tended from the age of ten years to that of four-
teen, the work being that of a preparatory nature
for the priesthood of the Catholic church, of
which his parents were devoted communicants.
He decided, however, that he had no inclination
for the ecclesiastical life, and accordingly left
school and went to Bremen, where he shipped on
a sailing vessel bound for Melbourne, .\ustralia,
and in due time touched the ports of Hong Kong,
Yokohama, Honolulu, San Francisco, and thence
passed around Cape Horn to South America,
from which point the vessel came to New Or-
leans, Louisiana, where he took "French leave,"
deserting the ship. He remained in the Crescent
City until the outbreak of the Civil war, when,
in February, 1861, he enlisted in Company K,
Eighth Louisiana Infantry, commanded by
Colonel Nicholson. He proceeded with his com-
mand to the Confederate capital, the city of Rich-
mond, Virginia, and there the regiment was as-
signed to the army commanded by General
(Stonewall) Jackson. Mr. Faust thus took part
in the various battles in which that intrepid offi-
cer led his forces, including the battle of Fred-
ericksburg, the seven days' battle about Rich-
mond, and was present at Chancellorsville, where
Jackson met his death, having been in the imme-
diate proximity when the body of the valiant com-
mander was brought in. General Ewell then
assumed command, and the subject had by this
time been made first lieutenant of his company,
which he commanded in the battle of Gettysburg,
the company entering this historic and sanguinary
battle with a complement of one hundred and ten
men, and forty lost their lives in this conflict,,
while thirtv-two, including our subject, were
there taken prisoners on the 3d of July, 1863.
Mr. Faust had entered the Confederate service
more in a spirit of adventure than one of convic-
tion of the righteousness of the ciusc, and after
being captured he manifested no rrluctance in
taking the oath of allegiance to the I'nion, and
he then proceeded north to the city of Chicago,
where, in October, 1863, he enlisted as a private
in Company B, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Cav-
alry, commanded by Colonel Davis, being finally
promoted sergeant of his company. He contin-
ued in the service, in Tennessee, Louisiana and
Texas, until the close of the war, taking part in
no large battles within the interval, and received
his honorable discharge in July, 1865. being in
Texas at the time. He then joined a volunteer
regiment under Colonel Williams, who is now a
resident of Chicago, and was made captain oF
Company A. The command marched into Mex-
ico and there joined the forces of General Diaz
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
979
and engaged in bushwhacking service until Max-
imilian was taken prisoner, in 1867, when thev
were mustered out and returned to the United
States. i\Ir. Faust came up the ^Mississippi river
to St. Louis, and thence went to Oil City, Penn-
.sylvania, where the oil excitement was at its
height, but remained but a short time, going then
to Omaha, Nebraska, and becoming one of the
pioneers of that city. He located there in the
fall of 1868, and was there engaged in the bak-
ery business until 1872, meeting with marked
success. He then disposed of his interests there
and removed to Fremont, Nebraska, where he
erected a flouring mill, at a cost of twenty-five
thousand dollars. Shortly after its completion
the Elkhorn river flooded its banks and took the
mill down stream, entailing a total loss. Mr.
Faust then moved to Evanston, Wyoming, and
in 1875 was among the first of the bold and ed-
venturous spirits who made their way to the
Black Hills. He started from Cheyenne in No-
vember of that year, and his party, comprising
a mule train of about a dozen wagons, came
through without trouble with the Indians, reach-
ing Custer on the 24th of December, and there
'finding the "city" represented by a population
of about twenty persons. Mr. Faust had
brought supplies and there opened a general mer-
chandise store, while he also planted ten acres of
potatoes, which grew well and proved excellent
provender for the grasshoppers, after whose vis-
itation no trace of tfie growing vines was to be
found. He also turned his attention to mining,
locating some quartz claims, but being unsuccess-
ful in the development of his properties. In the
spring of 1877 he removed to Lead, where he had
secured property early in the preceding year, and
here he has ever since maintained his home, con-
tributing to .the upbuilding and progress of the
town to a greater degree than has probably any
other one man, and being one of the most public-
spirited and enterprising of its citizens. After
locating in Lead Mr. Faust established himself
in the general merchandise business, building up
a large trade and continuing the enterprise until
1896, when he sold out. From the start he also
interested himself in mining in this locality. On
the 24th of April, 1876, he located the JMam-
motli Tunnel, going in four hundred feet and be-
ing then compelled to abandon operations by
reason of lack of funds. This is now one of the
rich properties controlled by the Homestake Min-
ing Company. He also located the Old Abe ex-
tension, which likewise went by default, as he
was not able to continue its development, and the
same now constitutes the richest ground owned
by the Homestake Company. While a resident
of Custer, in March, 1876, Mr. Faust took out
the first shipment of gold to Cheyenne, amount-
ing to about five thousand dollars. D. G. Tallent
and James Allen were of the party, with their
freighting outfits, and our subject also had a team
and wagon. They were snow-bound for five days
on Hat Creek, but finally reached their destina-
tion in safety. On the return trip, however, the
party, comprising about forty men, were attacked
by the Indians at Indian Creek, the band of sav-
ages numbering fully two hundred. In the con-
flict the party lost one man killed, and succeeded
in holding the Indians at bay until Captain Egan
came to the relief with troops from Fort Lara-
mie, when the savages fled. Mr. Faust's army
experience proved of great value to him and his
companions in warding oflf the attacks of the In-
dians on this occasion. Mr. Faust located thirty-
seven claims in Garden City, in 1894, and later
sold them to the Penobscot Company, having ap-
plied to them the title of the Realization claims.
He owns and is operating the Esmeralda group of
claims in the Black Tail Gulch. In 1897 he
erected the Faust block, a large and substantial
brick structure, on Main street, and also the
block known as the Dickerson corner, these be-
ing among the most modern and attractive
buildings in the business section, and in 1902 he
erected a fine modern block at the corner of Main
and Seavers streets, the same being fifty by one
hundred feet in dimensions and three stories in
height. He has otherwise shown his public spirit
in a way which has conserved the best interests
of the community, and is always ready to lend
his influence in the furtherance of worthy objects
for the general good.
In politics, though never an aspirant for of-
98o
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
fice, Mr. Faust is stanchly arrayed in support of >
the Republican party, and fraternally he is iden- j
tificd with Stanton Post, No. 8i, Grand Army
of the Republic ; is a charter member of Samari-
tan Lodge, No. 158, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, at Chadron, Nebraska, and is also a
charter member of Chadron Lodge, No. 140, In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, of the same
place, of which he is past grand master; and
Dakota Lodge, No. 6, Knights of P}i;hias, at
Lead City, of which he is past chancellor.
On the 4th of July, 1868, ^Mr. Faust was i
united in marriage to Miss Minnie Statler, who
was born ancl reared in Pennsylvania, where the |
family was founded shortly after the war of the I
Revolution, the original American progenitor
having been a soldier in the Hessian army during
the struggle for independence. j\Ir. and Mrs.
Faust have two children, William L.. engaged in
the drug business in Deadwood, and ]Maud, at
home.
H. H. HANSTEIN, M. D.. of Lead, is a
native of Illinois, and the son of Herman and
Emily Hanstein, the father born in Germany, the
mother in St. Louis, Missouri. Herman Han-
stein enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education
in the land of his nativity, and when a young
man spent eight years in various technical insti-
tutions in Paris, where he became a skilled arti-
san and achieved distinction as a maker of astro-
nomical and various other kinds of scientific in-
struments. He came to the United States in 1875
and since that time has been superintendent of
drawing in the high school. Chicago, standing
high as an artist and having almost a national
reputation as an instructor.
Dr. H. H. Hanstein was born in Chicago,
August 26, 1877, and received his educational
training in that city, graduating from the high
school when a youth in his teens. He then began
the study of medicine and, entering Rush Med-
ical College, prosecuted his professional research
until May 25. 1898, when he received his diploma,
after which he served the usual term of hospital
]iractice, under the direction of Dr. A. T. Ochner,
one of Chicago's most distinguished surgeons.
With a mind well disciplined by profession.-^!
training and practical experience. Dr. Hanstein
opened an office at Kenosha, Wisconsin, but after
spending about one year in that city, he con-
tracted with the Lead Hospital at Lead, South
Dakota, and during the year and a half following
was on the medical staft' of that institution. Re-
signing his position at the end of the time noted,
he opened an office in the Feiler Curnow block,
and engaged in the general practice, which he
has since prosecuted with most gratifying profes-
sional and financial success, commanding, in ad-
dition to a large city patronage, an extensive busi-
ness in Lead City, besides being regularly em-
ployed .by a number of mining camps in si'r-
rounding country. Few physicians of his age
have achieved the prestige in medical circles
which Dr. Hanstein enjoys, his career from the
beginning presenting a succession of advance-
ments that demonstrate a profound knowledge
of the profession with the ability to apply the
same to practice.
The Doctor is a close, critical student, seek-
ing by every means at his command to increase
his knowledge and usefulness, and the high es-
teem in which he is held attests the firm and abid-
ing hold he has on the confidence of the public.
JOHN WILLIAAI FREEMAN, surgeon of
the Homestake Mining Company, and one of the
distinguished men of his profession in South
Dakota, is a native of Macoupin county, Illinois,
born on the 13th day of December, 1853, in the
town of A'irden. Peter S. Freeman, the Doctor's
father, was born and reared in the state of New
Jersev, but in an early day moved to Macoupin
count}-, Illinois, where he followed agricultural
pursuits until his death, which occurred in the
year 1874. Elizabeth Freeman, the mother, was
a native of Kentucky and, like her husband, went
to Illinois when that state was new, and there
spent the remainder of her days, departing this
life in the above county in 1886.
Reared under the wholesome but somewhat
rigorous discipline of the farm, the early life of
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Dr. Freeman was spent amid a ceaseless round
of toil in the summer time, varied of winter sea-
sons by attendance at the public schools. Sub-
sequently he pursued his studies in the \'irden
higli school and after completing the course of
that institution he spent one year as a student
in Blackburn University, in the city of Carlin-
ville. The Doctor remained at home until his
twenty-second year, assisting with the work of the
farm, and in 1875 went to Jacksonville, where
he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr.
D. Prince, one of the leading physicians of that
city, under whose direction he continued until en-
tering the ]\Iiami Medical College, at Cincinnati.
After attending that institution two ye'-rs, he fur-
ther prosecuted his studies and research in the
medical department of the University of New
York City, where he was graduated in 1879, after
which he became assistant to Dr. David Prince,
phvsician in charge of the Jacksonville Sanita-
rium. ]n September, t88i, Dr. Freeman severed
his connection with the sanitarium to accept a
position as assistant surgeon in the United States
army, being sent to Fort Meade, South Dakota,
where he remained in the active discharge of his
professional duties until 1883. In June of that
year he left the army service for the purpose of
accepting the more lucrative post of surgeon of
the Homestake Mining Company at Lead City,
to which he was appointed on the ist day of Jan-
uary following.
Dr. Freeman has looked after the medical
interests of the above company for nearly twenty
years, during which time he has discharged his
duties in an eminently able and satisfactory man-
ner, his career presenting a series of successes,
which have added greatly to his reputation as a
capable physician and skilled surgeon and given
him much more than local repute in the line of
his profession. During this period, he has ex-
ercised personal supervision over the Homestake
Hospital, which under his able management has
liecome one of the leading institutions of the kind
in the state, and in addition to the pressing claims
of his position with the company he also com-
mands a private practice of no small magnitude.
Dr. Freeman belongs to the most advanced
school of his profession and has spared neither
pains nor expense in preparing himself thorough-
ly for his exacting duties, taking advantage of
every opportunity to increase his knowledge and
Ijy critical study, original investigation and re-
search, keeping in close touch with modern med-
ical thought. He served as superintendent of
the Lawrence county board of health under the
territorial government, having been elected to the
position in 1885, and he also held the office a
number of years after the admission of South
Dakota to statehood. In 1887 he was elected
president of the Black Flills Medical Society,
and in 1890 was further honored by being ele-
vated to the presidency of the Medical Society of
South Dakota, the highest position within the
power of the profession in this state to bestow.
He is also a member of the state board of medical
examiners and is a member of the American
Medical Association and the National Associa-
tion of Railway Surgeons, in both of which he
has come into -close contact with the eminent
men of his profession in this country, among
whom he is held in high esteem. In addition to
the above relations, the Doctor has been and is
still identified with enterprises outside his pro-
fession, having served for eight years as a mem-
ber of the school board of Lead City, of which
body he is now president, besides being a director
of the First National Bank of this city, also a
stockholder in the same.
Dr. Freeman, in common with the majority of
enterprising men of all professions and occupa-
tions, is identified with the time-honored Ma-
sonic brotherhood, in which he has risen to a high
rank, being past master of Central City Lodge,
No. 22, Free and Accepted Masons ; past high
priest of Dakota Chapter, No. 3, Ro3'al Arch
Masons ; past eminent commander of Dakota
Commandery, No. i. Knights Templar; eminent
commander of Lead Commandery, and past po-
tentate of Naja Temple, Ancient Arabic Order
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Politically
he supports the Republican party, and while
widely read and deeply informed relative to all
great questions and issues of the day, national,
international and foreign, the cjaims of his pro-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
fession are such as to leave him httle time or in-
cHnation to enter the domain of partisan pohtics.
Dr. Freeman was married at Lead City, Sep-
tember lo, 1885, to Miss Hattie Dickinson, who
has borne him four children, namely: Carrie
Erceldene, Marion E., John D. and Howard
Freeman.
CHARLES W. MERRILL, B. S., of Lead,'
Lawrence county, was born in Concord, New
Hampshire, on the 21st of December, 1869, and
is a son of Sylvester and Clara L. (French) Mer-
rill, the former of whom was born in Massachu-
setts and the latter in New Hampshire, while
they now maintain their home in San Francisco,
California. The paternal grandfather of our
subject was a pioneer hat manufacturer in Me-
thuen, Massachusetts, while grandfather French
was prominently identified with the installation
of stage lines in New Hampshire in early days,
and also interested in the construction of the first
lailroad line in that state. In 1870 the parents
of our subject removed to California, where the
father established himself in the furniture busi-
ness and where he and his wife still reside.
JMr. Merrill completed the curriculum of the
public schools in San Francisco and then entered
the University of California, where he was grad-
uated as a member of the class of 1891, with the
degree of Bachelor of Science. After leaving
the university Mr. Merrill passed four years' in
practical work with the United States geograph-
ical survey and with one of the leading metallur-
gical engineers of the world, whose specialty
was the amalgamation of gold and silver ores by
chemical processes. In 1895 Mr. Merrill in-
stalled his first cyanide plant, for the Standard
Mining Company, at Bodie, Mono county, Cali-
fornia, this being the first plant of the sort in
that district. That the project proved a source
of profit and the plant a significant success is evi-
denced in the fact that it paid for itself in six
■^vecks nfter the plant was put in operation. Since
that time a number of other plants have been
erected in the same district and by the improved
process it has bepn found profitable to re-open
a number of previously abandoned mines, which
are now yielding good returns. In 1896 Mr.
Merrill erected a large plant at Harqua Hala,
Yuma county, Arizona, this likewise being a pio-
neer cyanide plant, and it has netted the operating
company a profit of ten thousand dollars a month
on an investment of thirty thousand dollars. In
1897 the subject found his services in requisition
in connection with the erection and equipping
of the pioneer cyanide plant for the Montana
Mining Company, Limited, at Marysville, Mon-
t^.na, the same having a capacity of four hundred
tons per day and having been erected at a cost
of one hundred thousand dollars. LTp to the
present time it has paid a full half million dollars
in profits.
In the autumn of 1898 Mr. Merrill began a
series of individual experiments 'in comiection
with treating the tailings from the mines of the
Homestake Mining Company, at Lead, South
Dakota, said tailings practically representing in
valuation about half those with which he had
i previously experimented and had successfullly
treated. The attraction of such a low-grade
proposition was due to the great ore reserves
and large daily tonnage. However, the problem
was one of exceptional interest and importance,
and Mr. Merrill has not only added materially
j to his personal reputation through the success
which he has gained in the connection, but has
gained an economic and scientific victory as bear-
ing upon the great mining industry of this sec-
tion and other localities where similar conditions
exist. The difficulties encountered were, first, to
make a successful separation of the leachable
portion of the tailings, owing to the fact that
the battery process produces a very slimy prod-
uct ; and, second, to overcome the adverse condi-
tion involved in the fact that the ore carried a
very high per centage of pyrrhotite, a very objec-
tionable mineral element in connection with cy-
aniding, by reason of its marked affinity for oxy-
gen, and its tendency to decompose considerable
quantities of cyanide. The problem was finally
solved on a profitable basis, and the economic
treatment of the tailings on a large scale began
with the completion, in April. 1901, of what is
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
983
known as tlie No. i plant, at Lead, at a cost of
three hundred thousand dollars, the plant having
a capacity for treating, approximately, fourteen
hundred and fifty tons a day, which makes it the
largest of the sort in the world. It is earning,
approximately, from thirty to forty thousand dol-
lars a month, and the tailings treated are those
secured from the great mills containing five
hundred and forty stamps at Lead. In the year
igo2 Mr. Merrill installed for the company its
second plant, at Gayville, and this has a capacity
for the treating of an average of eight hnnd-ed
tons a day. This No. 2 cyanide plant treats the
leachable sands from what are known as the
North End mills, the Deadwood, Terra, the eld
Caledonia and the old Father De Smet, repre-
senting three hundred and sixty stamps. The
tailings from these mills are materially lower
in grade than those at Lead, though practically
the metallurgical processes employed in the two
cyanide plants are identical. The second plant is
running at a fair profit, taking into consideration
the low grade of material treated, maintaining
a profit of from seven to ten thousand dollars a
month.
In politics Mr. Merrill gives his allegiance
to the Republican party, but has never desired
official preferment, preferring to give his entire
attention to his profession, of which he is an en-
thusiastic devotee. He is a member of the Amer-
ican Institute of Mining Engineers, the Institu-
tion of Mining and Metallurgy, of London, and
the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society
of South Africa.
On the 9th of February. i8g8 :Mr. ^lerrill
was united in marriage to Miss Clara Robinson,
of .-\lameda, California, she being a daughter of
Dr. William H. Robinson, a prominent dental sur-
geon and practitioner of that state, and of this
union has been born a daughter, Beatrice, and a
son, John.
JOHN .\. SPARGO. master mechanic of the
grent Homestake T\Iining Company, was born in
Polk county, Tennessee, on the 12th of October,
1853. and is a son of James and Mary (I\Iay)
Spargo, both of whom were born in England.
James Spargo, Sr., grandfather of the subject,
was likewise a native of England, and there
passed the closing years of his life, though he
had spent a number of years as a resident of
Cuba. In 1842 the father of the subject came to
America to accept the position of mechanical en-
gineer for a copper-mining company in eastern
Tennessee, bringing machinery with him to com-
plete the equipment of the plant. He remained
in the employ of one concern for the period of
thirty years and is now living retired, in com-
pany with his devoted wife, in Polk county, Ten-
nessee, having attained the venerable age of
eighty years. During the Civil war the mines
with which he was connected were confiscated and
worked by the Confederate government, and he
continued in the same position until the original
owners again assumed control.
John A. Spargo, the eldest of the three chil-
dren, all of whom are living, secured his early
educational training in private schools and there-
after continued his studies in the Henry Clay
School, in Lexington, Kentucky, after which he
took up the study and practical work of mechan-
ical engineering under the able direction of his
honored father. Later he served an apprentice-
ship of four years in the Corliss Engine Works,
at Hamilton, Ohio, thereafter remaining there
employed until 1873, when he was offered and
accepted a position with the Silver Islet
Mining Companv on the north shore of
Lake Superior, where he remained until
1878, when he came to the Black Hills.
In November of that year he entered the
employ of the Homestake Mining Compiny,
working for a time as machinist and being pro-
moted from time to time to positions of greater
trust, until, in 1882, he was finally advanced to
his present important office of master mechanic.
Since that time he has had the supervision of all
machinery in the mines and stamp mills and shops
of the company, as well as of all construction
work, ^^^hen he entered the service of the com-
].iany the mill was equipped with eighty stamps,
mid this has been increased to nine hundred,
making it one of the largest and most complete
984
HISTORY' OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
stamp mills in the Union, while in the shops are
made practically all machines and tools demanded
in connection with the great industry'. Mr.
Spargo is interested in promising mining prop-
erties and is known as an able engineer and exec-
utive. In politics he renders allegiance to the
Republican party, and fraternally is affiliated
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order
of United Workmen.
On the 1st of April. 1885, was solemnized the
n:arriage of Mr. Spargo to Miss Ida Martin, who
■was born and reared in Wisconsin. She was
summoned into eternal rest on the loth of Au-
gust, 1896, and is held in loving memory by all
who came within the sphere of her gracious in-
fluence. She is survived bv three children, ]\[a-
rion Clvde, Ellen ]\Iay and Roger D.
ALBERT STEELE, who holds the responsi-
ble and exacting position of day foreman of the
great stamp mills of the Homestake INIining Com-
pany, at Lead, is of Scottish extraction in the
paternal line, though the name, in the form of
Stahl, has been identified with the annals of Nor-
way since the fourteenth century, when the orig-
inal representatives in the far Xorsehnd immi-
grated thither from Scotland. The subject was
born in Trondhjem, Norwa}-, on the 6th of April,
1838, being- a son of Roald and Kjersten Olsen.
After coming to the United States the subject re-
verted to the English spelling of the name and
the one which was undoubtedly the original or-
thography in Scotland. His father passed his en-
tire life in Norway, engaged in agricultural pi\r-
suits, and our subject was thus reared as a farmer
lad. At the age of fifteen years he accompanied
a Lutheran clergyman to the northern part of
Norway, where he passed four years, and he
then penetrated still farther north, making three
trips to Spitsbergen with Captain Carlson, whose
stanch little vessel went forth for the hunting of
walruses, seals and polar bears. Later Mr. Steele
made a trip in a brig to Hammerfest, the most
northerlv civilized town in the world, and thence
returned with a load of fish to Gothenburg.
Sweden, where the vessel was laden with
lumber and proceeded to Hull, England,
where our subject left the ship and went on a
Russian brig, bound for Riga, Russia, and loaded
with flaxseed for the market at Belfast, Ireland.
The vessel was wrecked on the west coast of
Scotland, and the members of the crew were
picked up and brought into Glasgow, whence Mr.
Steele shipped on the American vessel "Corne-
lia," of Portland, Maine, the same being bound
for Brazil. When three weeks out from Glas-
gow the vessel was wrecked and went to the
bottom of the sea, the crew and passengers tak-
ing to the boats and being picked up within
twenty-four hours by a Welsh brig, and they were
landed on Silly Island, whence Mr. Steele em-
barked on a steamboat for Penzance, Cornwall,
England, thence to Red Ruth and finally to Fal-
mouth, where he and his companions appealed
to the American consul, who sent them on to
Liverpool, via Dublin, where they were looked
after by the same consul. There the subject
sailed finally on a shijj named "Henr_\ Brigham."
bound for San Francisco, and the voyage was an
exceedingly rough one, necessitating the throw-
ing overboard of one hundred tons of the cargo,
while the vessel was greatly disabled, but finally
dropped anchor in San Francisco in September,
1861. The vessel was here seized by the govern-
ment, as it was owned in the south, then in re-,
hellion against the Union. After being identi-
fied with the coasting trade for one year ]\Ir.
Steele went on the stampede of goldseekers to
Alaska, but he immediately returned to San
Francisco, where he remained until 1864, when
he came to Idaho, where he was engaged in
quartz mining for the ensuing three years. He
then returned to California where he followed
the same vocation until 1878, when he set forth
for the Black Hills, arriving in February. On
the 2d of the following month he entered the
employ of the Homestake Mining Company as
a miner, and was soon afterward made foreman
of the Highland mine, retaining this position
two years, at the expiration of which the company
gave further evidence of appreciation of his abil-
itv and fidelity by promoting him to the present
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
office as foreman of the stamp mills, the capacity
of the mills having been increased from three
hundred and sixty to six hundred and forty
stamps since he assumed his position as foreman.
He has a pleasant home in Lead and is held in
high esteem in the community. In politics Mr.
Steele gives his support to the Republican party,
and fraternally he is identified with the lodge,
chapter and commandery of the ;\Iasonic order,
and also with the auxiliary organization, the
( )rder of the Eastern Star.
In January, 1880. i\Ir. Steele was united in
marriage to JMiss Theresa Hienish, who was born
in Germany, and who died in 1881, leaving one
child, Theresa Marie, who is now a stenographer
in the state auditor's office, at Lincoln, Nebraska.
In February, 1884, i\Ir. Steele wedded Miss Mary
.A.nn Leonard, who was born and reared in
Pennsylvania, and they became the parents of
six children, namely : Ellen, Caroline, Albert J.,
Agnes Catherine, John Leonard and Mary Ce-
celia. While out hunting September 5, 1903,
Albert J. was accidentally shot by one of his
companions and died a few hours later. He was
a bright boy sixteen years old.
ROBERT H. DRISCOLL, who occupies the
responsible position of cashier of the First Na-
tional Bank of Lead, Lawrence county, was born
in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, on the ist
of July, 1857, and is a son of Cornelius and
Catherine (Costello) Driscoll, the former of
whom was born in Ireland and the latter in the
city of Boston, Massachusetts. The father of the
subject was a child at the time of his parents'
immigration to the United States, the family set-
tling in Massachusetts, where he was reared and
educated. He was for a number of years en-
gaged in hat manufacturing in the city of Low-
ell, and he and his wife now maintain their home
in the historic old town of Salem, that state. Of
their seven children four are living.
Robert H. Driscoll was about five years of
age at the time of his parents' removal from
Lowell to Salem, and in the latter city he secured
his preliminary educational discipline in the pub-
lic schools, being graduated in the high school
as a member of the class of 1877. In the autumn
of the same year (1877) he was matriculated in
Harvard University, where he completed the clas-
sical course, being graduated in 1881, with the
degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then accepted
the position of instructor in Latin and Greek in
a private academy at Pittsfield, Massachusetts,
retaining this incumbency one year, at the expi-
ration of which he located in Spencer, Iowa,
where he taught in the public schools for one
year. He then, in August, 1883, came to Lead,
South Dakota, and here passed the ensuing three
years as principal of the public schools, in which
connection he made an excellent record by
greatly advancing the interests of the cause of
education in his field of labor, -systematizing the
work and inaugurating methods which have con-
tinued in use ever since. In 1887 he was ap-
pointed the first auditor of Lawrence county,
under Republican administration, and in the fol-
lowing year was duly elected to the office by
popular vote. In 1889 he was appointed clerk
of the county and circuit courts, these appoint-
ments throughout the territory having been made
by the President of the LTnited States, who se-
lected all court officials during the territorial
regime. The subject was incumbent of the office
at the time South Dakota was admitted to the
Union, and with other presidential court appoin-
tees, claimed the right to hold the position until
the next general election, the clerks appointed by
the county officials taking issue. Mr. Driscoll
made a deterniined stand, and was the first to get
his decision before the supreme court, said de-
cision being favorable to him and thus settling
similar contentions throughout the state. In 1890,
the first regular election, he was chosen to fill
the office, and in 1892 was re-elected, and that
without opposition. In 1894 he resigned his of-
fice and accepted that of cashier of the First
National Bank, of which he has since continued
incumbent, having practically the executive
charge of the affairs of the bank and having
proved himself an able and discriminating finan-
cier. He is a member of the directorate of the
Black Hills Mining Men's Association and also
986
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of that of the Lead Commercial Chib, while he
is also a member of the American Mining Con-
gress and a life member of the Harvard Union,
an organization of the alumni of his alma mater.
Mr. Driscoll is intrinsically progressive and pub-
lic-spirited and takes an active interest in all
that makes for the advancement of the state of his
adoption, being a loyal citizen and one who places
true valuations on men and things. He is a
stockholder and official in several mining com-
panies. In politics he gives a stanch allegiance
to the Republican party.
On the i6th of September, 1886, was solem-
nized the marriage of IMr. Driscoll to Miss Cath-
erine Barry, who was born in Houghton, Michi-
gan, being a daughter of Thomas and Ellen
Barry. Mr. and Mrs. Driscoll have two chil-
dren, Robert E. and James Lowell.
AARON DUNN, one of the pioneers of the
northwest and a prominent and honored citizen
of Deadwood, is a n^vtive of the province of On-
tario, Canada, having been born on the banks
of the St. Clair river, a few miles from the city
of Detroit, Michigan, on the i6th of February,
1 85 1. . His father, Aaron Dunn, was a native of
England, and as a young man, in the thirties,
came to America and took up his residence in
New York, later going to Canada, where he was
engaged in the lumber business until 1856, when
he moved to Minnesota, becoming a pioneer of
Mower county, that state, where he was engaged
in lumbering and farming until 1870, when he
repeated his pioneer experiences to a certain ex-
tent bv coming to what is now the state of South
Dakota, locating in the city of Sioux Falls, where
he passed the remainder of his life, his death
occurring in 1885. His wife, whose maiden
name was Isabella Carnathan, was born in the
north of Ireland, and her death occurred in 1870.
Thev became the parents of twelve children, of
whom three are living, the subject of this sketch
having been the fourth in order of birth.
.\aron Dunn, whose name initiates this re-
view, passed his boyhood days under the condi-
tions of the pioneer epoch in Minnesota, and his
early educational advantages were perforce some-
what limited, while he started forth for himself
when but ten years of age. At that time he
started for the Red river district of Minnesota,
but the Indians were a source of constant men-
ace at the time and the adventurous lad decided
it better not to attempt to personally annihilate
the savages, and accordingly turned about and
went to the southern states, this being in 1862,
in which year occurred the memorable Minnesota
massacre, the Indians having gone forth on the
warpath. The subject's brother, James C,
was at the time a member of Company B, Fifth
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and at the first
outbreak of the Indians at Redwood Ferry, for-
tv-eight of his company engaged in the conflict
with the savages, and of the number only twenty
returned, seven of them being wounded, while
twenty-seven were killed, the other to complete
the number engaged being the captain of the
company, who was drowned while crossing the
Minnesota river. Dtiring the war of the Rebel-
lion the subject was in various southern states,
from Missouri to Tennessee. He was too young
to enlist in the ITnion service, but as a boy per-
formed his part in forwarding the cause. He
drove an ambulance for some time, carried dis-
patches and was employed in the sutler's depart-
ment, and thus witnessed a number of engage-
ments. In 1863 he was at Cape Girardeau, Mis-
souri, at the time of the battle there, and he con-
tinued in the south until . the end of the war,
when he returned to the north and remained
for a few months, when he went to Colorado,
where he was employed for a time, thence going
to New Mexico. In 1866 he made his war to
jNIontana, making the trip via the Bozeman Cut-
off and Forts Kearney and Smith. At Brown's
Springs, on the dry fork of the Cheyenne river,
the party of which he was a member had a con-
flict with the Indians, losing seven men, while
afterward the party had several other conflicts
with the savages, another member being killed.
Thev arrived in Bozemin in the latter o^rt of
September, and thence ?ilr. Dunn proceeded to
\'irginia Citv, where he passed the winter. In
the spring of 1867 he started forth on a prospect-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ing tour, making his way into the now famous
Coeur d'Alene district of Idaho and there meeting
with fair success. He then went to PhilHpsburg,
Montana, where he took charge of tlie mill of the
Imperial Silver Mining Company, which he
l)laced under successful operation, while it had
]ireviously proved a failure. While under his
charge eight and one-half tons of silver repre-
sented the product of the mill. He remained
with this concern for a period of eighteen months
and then removed to Rochester, Madison county-
Montana, where he leased mines and operated
the same for the ensuing two years, with good
success. He then went to Trapper City, where
he operated the Trapper mine for one winter,
after which he went to the city of Butte, where
he was offered a quarter interest and a salary
of ten dollars a day to sink a shaft to a depth of
one hundred feet in the Hattie Harvey mine. He
accepted the proposition, sunk the shaft to the
stipulated depth and then ran a level from the
bottom a distance of one hundred feet, when he
struck an immense body of ore running twenty-
eight per cent, copper, but as thirty per cent,
was the lowest that would at that time justify
working, owing to the enormous charges for
freight, the development did not proceed till
some time later. It should be stated that this mine
is now one of the most valuable portions of the
great property of the Boston & Montana Mining
Company, Limited. Leaving Butte, Mr. Dunn
started for the Black Hills, in the summer of
T876. LIpon reaching Fort Benton, then the
head of navigation on the Missouri river, he
found that he had arrived a few hours too late
to secure the last boat for the season, and in
company with one companion he purchased a
skiff, in which they floated four hundred and
fifty miles down the river, traveling most at night
and seeing Indians almost daily, this being
shortly after the great Custer massacre. At Car-
roll, Montana, they found a steamboat, on which
they took passage to Bismarck, from which point
the subject and his party came through with ox-
tenms to the Black Hills, arriving in Deadwood
in ( )ctober, 1876, and having managed to avoid
attack from the Indians while cnroute. He
passed a month in mining in Deadwood Gulch
and then joined the stampede to Wolf Mountain,
but the prospects there turned out a failure and he
returned in a few weeks to Deadwood. In Jan-
uary, 1877, Mr. Dunn secured employment in
the first stamp mill erected and placed in opera-
tion in the Black Hills, the same being owned
by M. E. Pinney and Robert Lawton, and being
located on two cement claims, called the Alpha
and Omega. This mill was started in operation
the last day of December, 1876, and though there
has been no little dispute as to the matter of the
first mill to be put in operation, Mr. Dtmn
gives the assurance that this one is unmistakably
entitled to the distinction. The Bald pulverizer
had been started previously and run a short time,
but was not a stamp mill. Mr. Dunn did the
amalgamating in the stamp mill mentioned for the
ensuing seven months, and he then engaged in
prospecting and in speculating in mining prop-
erties, while for a time he ran the Standby mill,
at Rochford, and was also identified with the
operation of several other mills, at varying inter-
vals. Since 1877 he has been interested in min-
ing properties in Spruce Gulch, about two and
one-half miles distant, by road, from Deadwood,
and is there the principal owner in nineteen full
claims. Up to the time of this writing about
fortv thousand dollars have been expended in
the improvement and developing of these prop-
erties, while about three thousand tons of ore
have been shipped to the smelter, the returns
being from eight to twenty-three dollars a ton,
while the ground is acknowledged to be rich. He
also has interests in properties near Custer, where
he has passed some time in prospecting within
the past two years, and there he has found a belt
five miles long and three wide, carrymg all classes
of silvanite and teluride ore hitherto practically
unknown, while he predicts that the same district
will equal the famous Cripple Creek district, in
Colorado, in which latter he also has some inter-
ests. Mr. Dunn has made a careful study of
mining, milling, etc., and is known as one of the
best amalgamators in the Black Hills. In 1885
he looked over mining properties in Nova Scotia,
Vermont and South Carolina for Boston capital-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ists and in 1890-91 performed for them a similar
service in Colorado and Idaho. He now devotes
practicall)- his entire attention to the developing
of his several properties, and is one of the prom-
inent and popular mining men of the state. In
1902 Mr. Dunn made a trip to his old home in
Minnesota, this being his first visit there in forty-
one years. In politics he gives allegiance to the
Republican party.
D. E. A. LUNDOUIST, the first settler of
the thriving town of Irene, South Dakota, and in
point of continuous residence its oldest inhabi-
tant, is a native of Sweden, where his birth oc-
curred on the 22d day of February, 1858. His
father, A. G. Lundquist, a well-to-do merchant
and landowner, also interested for a number of
years in factories and various other industrial
enterprises, departed this life in l,iis native land in
the summer of 1888. The mother, whose maiden
name' was Eva Wennerstrom, also born and
reared in Sweden, is still living in that country,
as are other members of the family, the subject
and two brothers who reside "in New York city
being the only representatives in the United
States.
^Ir. Lundquist received a liberal education
in the schools of his native place and after fin-
ishing the same, in the summer of 1872, took up
the study of telegraphy, which in due time he
mastered. For six years he had charge of a rail-
way station in Norway, during which time he
creditably filled the positions of operator, ticket
agent and bookkeeper. At the expiration of the
time noted he resigned his position and on De-
cember 4, 1879,. left Norway for America, bound
for Minnesota, reaching Delavan, that state, twen-
ty-three days after bidding farewell to the shores
of his native land. The winter following his
arrival he attended a country school and after
spending the next summer herding cattle, he ac-
cepted, in the fall of 1880, a clerkship in a gen-
eral store in the town of Easton. During the en-
suing five years he served as clerk and book-
keeper for different mercantile establishments in
Faribault county, ^Minnesota, and in the fall of
1885 went to La Crosse, Wisconsin, as book-
keeper for a construction company which was
building a branch line of the Chicago, Burling-
ton & Ouincy Railroad to that cit}-.
Severing his connection with this company,
i\Ir. Lundquist subsequently returned to Minne-
sota and for some time thereafter held the posi-
tion of bookkeeper and cashier in the bank at
Wells, Faribault county, which place he resigned
in the summer of 1887 and went to Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, to enter upon his duties as book-
keeper for a contractor who was constructing
into that city a section of the Illinois Central
Railroad. When this work was done, he con-
cluded to remain at Sioux Falls, and after spend-
ing five years there as bookkeeper in a wholesale
house, he again turned his attention to railroad-
ing, engaging in the winter of 1892 with the
Great Northern, which at that time was being
constructed between the cities of Sioux Falls
and Yankton. Since the completion of this work,
in the fall of 1893, Mr. Lundquist has lived at
Irene, with the history of which town he has been
very closely identified ever since the place was
located. Mr. Lundquist came to Irene before
the town was laid out, locating on the present site
April 15, 1893, shortly after severing his con-
nections with the Great Northern Railroad. When
the tov.m was, in the summer of the above year,
surveyed and platted, and the proprietor, Jacob
Schaetzel, Jr., of Sioux Falls, placed the lots on
the market, ilr. Lundquist was appointed agent
and continued as such until the fall of 1894, dur-
ing which time he disposed of the greater num-
ber of lots, besides using his influence to adver-
tise the advantages of the place to the world and
induce a substantial class of people to locate in
the new and rapidly growing town. He not only
erected the first building in Irene and became
the first permanent resident, but is also the fa-
ther of the first child born in the town, besides
being the first merchant, served on the first school
hoard, was the first justice of the peace, and the
first man in the place to be commissioned notary
public. Shortly after locating at Irene yir.
Lundquist opened a general store, which he has
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
989
since conducted with a large and steadily grow-
ing patronage.
Mr. Lundquist is a member of the ^^lasonic
brotherhood, belonging to Lodge Xo. 5. Sioux
Falls, having joined the order at Blue Earth City,
Minnesota, in 1885 ; he is also a charter member
of Camp No. 2323, Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica, with which society he united in June, 1894,
and in addition to these fraternities, he has been
identified since November, 1899, with Council
No. 24, Ancient Order of Pyramids, besides be-
longing to the order of Home Guardians, Temple
Lodge No. I, at Canton, South Dakota, joining
the last named organization in November, 1902.
On September 20, 1890, at Spirit Lake, Iowa,
was solemnized the ceremony which united Mr.
Lundquist and Miss Etta Capitolia Cassidy in the
holy bonds of wedlock. Mrs. Lundquist was
born August 4, 1869, in Missouri, and slic has
presented her husband with five children, whose
names and dates of birth are as follows : Viva
Rose, January i, 1892; Vera Maud, September
19. 1893; Elsie Ruth, November 4, 1894; Esther
May, June 9, 1896, and Eva Grace, April 20,
1899, all living, and all born in Irene except the
oldest, who first saw the light of day in the city
of Sioux Falls.
JOHN BLAIR S?.IITH TODD, first dele-
gate in congress from Dakota, was a native of
Kentucky, born April, 1814. Educated at West
Point and entered regular army and served in
Florida war, war with Mexico and the Rebellion.
Delegate in congress four years. 1861-1865. Died
at Yankton, Tanuarv, 1872.
ALFRED ALDER, one of the leading citi-
zens and most progressive and highly esteemed
business men of Volin, Y^ankton county, claims
the Empire state of the Union as the place of his
nativity, having been born in the city of Buflfalo,
New York, on the 29th of August, 1846, a son
of John and Mary A. (Rosenbach) Alder, of
whose seven children five are living at the pres-
ent time, namely : John, who is chief clerk in the
Indian school at Lawrence, Kansas ; Eugene, who
resides in Eastman, Minnesota ; Louisa, who is
the wife of James A. Dickson, of Oklahoma, who
was for many years superintendent of schools of
Yankton county ; Jennie, who is the wife of
Charles Campbell, of Eastman, Minnesota ; and
Alfred, who is the immediate subject of this
sketch.
The father of the subject was born in the city
of Berwick, on the Tweed, in England, in 1817,
and was there reared to maturity, having learned
the trade of .millwright and become an expert in
the line, while he also served seven years in the
English army. In 1843 he came to the United
States and immediately enlisted in the army, in
which he served one year. He then returned to
BufTalo, where he was engaged in the work of his
trade until 1857, when he came to the west, lo-
cating in Crawford county, Wisconsin, where
he continued to be actively engaged in the work
of his trade until his death, which occurred in
1880, while in 1871 he became the owner of a
grist mill at Eastman, that state, continuing to
operate the same successfully until he was called
from the scene of life's endeavors, in the fulness
of years and well earned honors. His wife was
born in Germany, in the year 181 1, and also is
now deceased.
Alfred Alder, whose name introduces this
sketch, secured his early educational discipline in
the public schools of Buflfalo, New York, being
about ten years of age at the time when his par-
ents removed thence to Wisconsin, where he was
reared to manhood, learning the trade of mill-
wright under the effective direction of his father
and devoting his attention to that vocation until
1 87 1, when he assumed a position in the mill
owned by his father in Eastman. He continued
to reside in Wisconsin until 1880, when he re-
moved to Middle Branch, Nebraska, where he
erected a flouring mill, successfully operating the
same until 1886, when he disposed of the prop-
erty and came to the city of Yankton, South Da-
kota, where he established himself in the mer-
cantile business, carrying a general stock of
goods. About two years later he came to Volin,
and here he continued in the same line of enter-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
prise until May, 1892. building up a large and
prosperous business and being known as one of
the most enterprising and reliable merchants in
the county. In the month mentioned he sold out
his mercantile interests and in the autumn of the
same year he instituted the erection of the Volin
flouring mill, which was completed the follow-
ing summer, the same having proved of inesti-
mable benefit to the people of this section, afford-
ing facilities for which there had been a recog-
nized demand.
In politics Mr. Alder is a stalwart Republi-
can, and it was his privilege to cast his first
presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, while
serving in the Union army and before he had at-
tained his legal majority, since he was but eigh-
teen years of age at the time. In ^larch, 1864,
he enlisted as a private in Company K, First
Illinois Light Artillery, with which he served un-
til August of the following year, when he re-
ceived his honorable discharge, victory having
crowned the L'nion arms and the rebellion been
suppressed. Flis father also served with gal-
lantry as a Union soldier, having enlisted, at
the age of forty-seven years, in Company I, Fifth
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he
served for three years and four months,
while his son John W. served for three years
as a member of Company I, Third Wis-
consin A'olunteer Cavaln,-. The subject is
at the time of this writing incumbent of
the office of treasurer of the village of Volin, but
he has never been ambitious for public office,
though ever ready to do his part in forwarding
the civic and general interests of his home town
and county, to which he is signally loyal. Fra-
ternally he is identified with St. John's Lodge,
Xo. I, Free and Accepted Masons, of Yankton.
On the 2-th of November, 1873, Mr. Alder
was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Fin-
ney, of Eastman. Wisconsin, and of their ten chil-
dren nine are still living, namely: John, who is
employed in his father's mill, being an able young
brsiness man : Eunice, who remains at the pa- |
rental home ; Bertha, who is a teacher in the
public schools at Esthcrvillc. Iowa: Ephraim. ;
who is engaged in farming in Yankton county ;
Winifred, who is a teacher in the district schools
of the county; and Alfred, Jr., Herbert, Bessie
and Charles, who remain beneath the home
roof.
NEL.S J. BRAKKE, who is now living re-
tired in the village of \'olin. Yankton county,
where he holds precedence as president of the
board of village trustees, was born in Norway on
the 4th of July, 1844, and was there reared and
educated. At the age of twenty-one years he
emigrated to Ainerica and settled in Vernon
county, Wisconsin, where he found employ-
ment during the ensuing summer, and in the
autumn of the same year (i"866) he came to
Y^ankton county, Dakota, becoming one of the
pioneers of the territory. He pre-empted one
hundred and sixty acres of land four miles west
of the present village of Volin, and some time
later took a homestead claim five miles north-
west of the town. He set himself earnestly to
the task of iinproving his land and bringing it
under effective cultivation, and he continued to
reside on his homestead claim until 1901, when
he removed to the village of Volin, where he
has since lived retired from active business,
though he maintains a general supervision of
his fine farming property, which represents the
results of his many years of earnest toil and
endeavor. He came to America as a poor young
man, having had but one silver dollar as the sum
total of his financial resources at the time of his
arrival in South Dakota, and it can not be other
than gratifying to note the position which he
today occupies as one of the highly esteemed and
well-to-do citizens of our fine commonwealth.
He was married in 1868, but has no children.
In politics he gives an unwavering support to
the Republican party and has been an active
worker in its local ranks. He served three years
as a member of the board of county commis-
sioners. He is a member of the Lutheran
church, is a man of inflexible integrity and is
honored for his sterling character and for the
ability which he has shown in winning his wav
to a position of independence. In irpi he was
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
elected president of the board of trustees of the
village of Volin and is incumbent of the office
at the time of this writing, having proved a most
discriminating and faithful executive.
JOHN O. AASETH comes of sturdy Norse-
land lineage, and was born in Norway, on the 3d
of July, 1850, being- a son of Ole Rise and Kare
(Hestehagen) Aaseth, of whose seven children
he is the youngest of the three survivors, the
other two being Anna, who is the wife of Lars
Hanson, of Yankton county, and Agnethe, who
is the wife of Ole Gulbranson, who still resides in
Norway. Both parents are now deceased, the
father having been engaged in agricultural pur-
suits in his native land, where he passed his en-
tire life. Tlie subject of this sketch was reared
on the homestead farm and his early educa-
tional discipline was such as was afforded in the
schools of his native land, where he remained
until he had attained the age of nearly twenty-
two years. In the spring of 1872 he severed the
home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in
America, whither he came as a stranger in a
strange land and dependent upon his own exer-
tions for a livelihood, since he had no capital as
a basis of operations and was further handicapped
in that he was not familiar with the language of
the country. After landing in New York city
?\[r. ,\riseth came forthwith to South Dakota,
whose development was at that time in the initial
stages, and located in Yankton county. His first
emplo3'ment was in rafting tics down the Mis-
souri river for use bv the Dakota Southern Rail-
road, which was then in process of construction.
He was thus engaged during the first summer
and upon demanding his salarv, amounting to
about one hundred and twenty dollars, he was
unable to collect the same, having never yet re-
ceived payment for his arduous labors in the
connection. During the ensuing winter he found
emplovment in cutting wood and during the sum-
mer of 1873 he was an employe on the steamboat
"Western," plying between Yankton and Fort
Benton. Montana, while during the harvest sea-
son he worked in the wheat fields. In the au-
tumn of that year he secured a position as clerk
in a general store in the village of Gayville, the
enterprise being conducted by Iver Bagstad, and
in due time he became thoroughly familiar with
all details of the business, gaining the implicit
confidence of his employer, as is evident when
we revert to the fact that at the expiration of
about five years he was admitted to partnership,
while he has ever since been identified with the
enterprise, which has grown from one of most
modest order until it now represents one of the
largest and most important mercantile concerns
in Yankton county. In 1892 the business was in-
corporated under the laws of the state and at this
time the title of the company was changed to its
present form, that of Bagstad & Aaseth Company,
while Mr. Aaseth was made treasurer of the
concern, in which executive position he has since
continued. The building utilized has received ad-
ditions at various times, as the demands of the
business required more ample accommodations,
and an extensive space is now used for the ac-
commodation of the large and varied stock, the
trade of the company extending over a wide ra-
dius of country.
In politics Mr. Aaseth is stanchly arrayed
in support of the Republican party, and has been
an active and effective worker in its cause. He
was for several years a member of the board of
countv commissioners, and in i88g he was elected
a member of the first legislature of the state of
South Dakota, in which capacity he rendered
efficient service to the state and was an able rep- .
resentative of the interests of his constituency.
He takes an active interest in educational matters
and for the past ten years has been a valued mem-
ber of the school board of Gayville. He and his '
wife are prominent members of the Lutheran
church, in whose work they take an active part.
Mr. Aaseth received the appointment of post-
master of Gayville in 1902, and is still incumbent
of this position, in which he is giving a capable
and acceptable administration. He is well known
throughout the county and is honored as one of
its representative citizens and business man.
On the 14th of March, 1879. Mr. Aaseth was
united in marriage to Miss Christina Welson, of
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Gayville, she likewise being a native of Norway,
and of this union have been born eight children,
• all of whom still remain at the parental home,
their names being here entered in order of birth :
Oliver, Elmer, Carl, Julian, Lewis, Alma, Clara
and Myrtle. The two next eldest sons are em-
ployed in the store with which their father has
so long been identified and the family home is a
center of hospitality and refinement.
REV. LAWRENCE LINK is a native of
Germany, having been born in the province of
Wurtemberg on the 5th of August, 1869. He
received his preliminary educational discipline in
the fatherland and at the age of fourteen years
he came to America and passed two years with
his relatives in Pennsylvania, and then came to
Yankton, South Dakota, where he was under
the instruction and episcopal guidance of Bishop
Mart}' for one year, at the expiration of which
he entered St. Thomas' College, at Marriam
Park,» St. Paul, where he completed his theo-
logical course, being ordained to the priesthood
on the 2d of July, 1894, at Sioux Falls. His
first charge comprised the towns of Hartford,
Huntimer, Wellington and Garretson, this state,
while he maintained his residence in Sioux Falls.
Tn September of the same year Father Link was
transferred to Tyndall, where he remained for a
brief interval, at the expiration of which he was
called to Yankton to assume charge of Sacred
Heart church during the absence of the regular
pastoral incumbent, Father Edward Jones, who
was absent on a vacation. After the return of
Father Jones the subject remained as his assist-
ant until ^larch i. 1895, when the former was
transferred to another charge and Father Link
succeeded him in the pastoral charge of this
parish, where he has since labored.
DAATD W. DONALDSON, an old and re-
spected farmer and ])ublic-spirited citizen now
living in honorable retirement in section 14.
Spirit Lake township, Kingsbury county, was
born April i. 1826, in Orange county. New
York, the son of James and ?^Iary (Waugh)
Donaldson, natives of Ireland. These parents
came to America in an early day and after living
in the state of New York until about 1829. they
removed to New York city, where their son
David ^^^ spent the greater part of his early
life and received his education. He is the fourth
of six children, only one besides himself living
at the present time, a sister, Mrs. Emile Clem-
ents,, whose home is in Illinois. At the age of
twenty-two, David W. went to ^Michigan ; thence
to Wisconsin and from the latter state to Iowa,
locating at Dubuque, where he worked for some
time as a miner. Leaving that city, he purchased
a half section of fine Iowa land which he culti-
vated for eight years, and at the expiration of
that time, in 1855. moved to Minnesota, where
he continued to till the soil until the second year
of the Civil war. On May 7, 1862, he enlisted
in Company C, Twelfth L^nited States Infantry,
with which he served three years, during which
time he participated in a number of sanguinary
battles and minor engagements, including, among
others, the second battle of Bull Run. Antietam.
Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg. Mine Run, and
the bloody actions in the Wilderness. At
.Antietam .the drum of his right ear was ruptured
by the concussion of heavy artillery, causing par-
tial deafness from which he has never recovered,
and for years he has been obliged to use an ear
trumpet to assist his sense of hearing. IMr.
Donaldson was honorablv discharged in 1865
with the rank of corporal, after which he re-
turned to his Minnesota home and there car-
ried on fanning very successfully until 1882,
when he disposed of his interests in that state
and came to King.sbury county. South Dakota,
taking up a homestead in section 14, Spirit Lake
township. He soon reduced his land to a high
state of tillage ; erected a fine residence and made
many other substantial improvements, until his
farm is now considered one of the best in the
county of Kingsbury. He followed agriculture
and stock raising very profitably until a few
years ago when, by reason of the comfortable
competence in his possession and the infirmities
incident to advancing age, he rented his land and
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
has since lived a retired life. Mr. Donaldson has
always been a great reader, and takes much
pleasure in liis books and periodicals, his ac-
quaintance with literature and his information
relative to current, public and political questions
being general and profound. He has always been
a stanch Republican, remained true to his party
when Populism threatened its disruption and has
contributed greatly to its success in his town-
ship and county. He served a number of years
as school treasurer, resigning the office in 1902,
and was for six years clerk of the school board
in the township of his residence. He is a charter
member of the Grand Army of the Republic
post at DeSmet, takes an active interest in al!
of its deliberations and has filled various official
positions in the same from time to time.
Mr. Donaldson, in 184S, was united in mar-
rias'e to IMiss Mary Clark, who was born in
Allegany county. New York, December 3, 1832,
being the daughter of Joseph and Sarah
(Bable) Clark, of that state- Mr. and Mrs.
Donaldson have been married fiftv-five years and
are still hale, hearty and happy and seem to enjoy
life much more than the majority of people.
Their home is noted for its hospitality and all
who .know the excellent old couple esteem them
for their many amiable qualities and sterling
worth. They have nine children, whose names
and dates of birth are as follows : Clara I.. May
6. 1850; James, June 29, 1852: Elizabeth, Feb-
ruary 3, 1855; Sarah J., February 6, 1857;
Emily, April 11, 1859; Mary, Januan- 23, 1861 ;
Frances E., January 16, 1863; Ella, August 24,
1866, and George E., who was born June 23,
1870, all living but Clara and Frances, the for-
mer dying May 4, 1875, the latter on Septem-
ber 22, 1863.
I ERNEST DUMONT SKILLMAN. cashier
* of the State Bank of Irene, Clay county, was born
in Macon, Lenawee county, Michigan, on the nth
of June, 1867, and thence his parents removed to
South Bend, Indiana, in 1868. and from the lat-
ter place to Bethlehem, Albany county. New
York, in 1872. In a country district school in
the last mentioned locality the subject received
his early educational discipline, while later he
was there under private instruction at home. In
1883 the family came to the territory of Dakota,
and the subject's education was here completed
in the Sioux Falls University, where, with his
brother, Willett R,, now of New York city, he 1:)C-
longed to the upper classes in 1883-4.
Rev. William Jones Skillman, father of him
whose name initiates this sketch, was born in
New Jersey, in the year 1835, and was gradu-
ated in Rutgers College in i860, while three years
later he was graduated in the theological semi-
nary of the Dutch Reformed church, at New
Brunswick, New Jersey. He forthwith entered
the ministry of his ancestral church, and he has
been pastor of churches of that denomination as
follows: Macon, Michigan, from 1863 to 1868;
South Bend, Indiana, from 1868 to 1872 ; First
Bethlehem church, on the Hudson fiver, near Al-
bany, New York, from 1872 until 1883. In the
last mentioned year he came with his family to
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as before mentioned.
Here he organized the Presbyterian church, while
later he served the Presbyterian churches of Dell
Rapids and Flandreau,-this state, the family in
the meanwhile continuing to reside in Sioux
Falls. Later Mr. Skillman held for a short time
the position of professor of Greek in the North-
western Academy at Orange City, Iowa, and
finally, in 1886, he assumed pastoral charge of the
Livingston Reformed church, of Sioux Falls,
while he was also editor and proprietor of the
Sioux Falls Journal. In 1894 he removed to the
city of Philadelphia, where he was for a time
pastor of the Talmage Memorial church, being
now pastor of the South church (Reformed),
of that city. Until 1902 he was also there asso-
ciate editor of the "City and State." His wife,
whose maiden name was Susie Eleanor Gilliland,
was born in New York city, in 1841, and was
reared and educated in the national metropolis,
earlv becoming a teacher and later vice-principal
o.f the leading public school of New Brunswick,
New Jersey. The parents of the subject are both
living and are hale and vigorous, worthy types of
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
stanch ancestral stock and of noble manhood and
womanhood. !
The Skillman family is one of the oldest in j
America. All of the name in the United States
descend from Captain Thomas Skillman, who was
an English soldier and a member of the Duke of
York's expedition, under command of Colonel
(afterward Governor) Nicolls, to whom New
Amsterdam surrendered in 1664, becoming known
thereafter as New York. The subject of this
sketch is of the eighth generation in direct line
of descent from Captain Thomas Skillman. The
family, however, is more Dutch (Holland) and
Huguenot (French) than it is English, having a
record, both direct and through inter-marriage,
which shows such characteristic names as Petit.
Aten, Van Alse. Quick, Runyon, Longstreet, Per-
rine. etc. It includes at least three families all
the members of which bearing the name respect-
ively spring from a common ancestor — the Skill-
mans, as noted, the Scudders and the Runyons.
The same also may be said of all the rest except
the first, though the lineage has not been worked
out so closely and clearly as in the case of the
three mentioned. The paternal grandmother of
the subject bore the maiden name of Mary Scud-
der, she being the seventh by descent from
Thomas Scudder, of Plymouth, Massachusetts,
and later, in 1635, of historic old Salem. One of
the great-grandparents of the subject was Cath-
arine Runyon, the fifth by descent from Vincent
Rongnion, who was born in Poitou, France, in
1640, and who was one of the Huguenots who
fled their native land to escape the persecution
incident to the revocation of the edict of Nantes.
The Perrines, on the maternal side, were also
Huguenots, and the maternal grandfather of the
subject's mother was by birth a Spaniard, being
an early resident of New York city. The Gilli-
lands were Scotch-Irish and earlv became set-
tlers of New Jersey, the mother of i\'Ir. Skillman
being of the fourth generation from John Gilli-
land, of the Spottswood neighborhood. His son
David married Eleanor Perrine Willett. repre-
senting another of the oldest, most numerous aivi
best known families of New York. There is
English. Dutch, French, Scotch and Scotch-
Irish, Welsh and Spanish blood in the Skillman
family as represented in the subject of this sketch,
and so far as known, with a single exception, that
of the Spanish great-grandfather on the mother's
side, not one of the families thus interrelated has
been in America for less than two centuries, while
some, as the Scudders and others, have been es-
tablished on American soil for nearly three cen-
turies. Soldiers in the war for independence,
both privates and officers, are found among the
ancestors of the family in nearly all its compo-
nent households.
Ernest D. Skillman accompanied his parents
to South Dakota in 1883. and for the first four
years after his arrival in the state he devoted his
attention to farming, being associated with his
brother, \Vil!ett R., in improving and cultivating
his father's farm, about one and one-half miles
northwest of Sioux Falls, the two brothers main-
taining bachelor's hall during this interval. In
January, 1887, ]\Ir. Skillman secured a position
as collection clerk for the Sioux Falls National
Bank, in which he was eventually promoted to the
officer of teller, retaining this incumbency until
the 1st of November, 1893, when he resigned, to
accept a position in the office of the treasurer of
Minnehaha county, where he remained until the
following June, when he resigned the office to
accept that of cashier and manager of the State
Bank of Irene, at Irene, Clay couiity, said institu-
tion having been organized in May, 1894, by Ja-
cob Schaetzel, Jr., William A. Schaetzel and 'Sir.
Skillman, who still remain the interested princi-
pals, while the subject has further continued to
hold the chief executive office from the time of
the organization to the present.
In politics Mr. Skillman gives his allegiance
to the Republican party, and he was chairman of
the board of trustees of the town of Irene for one
year, his term expiring on the ist of June, 1902,
while for three years he was treasurer of the
Irene school district, his term expiring June i,
1903. He is clerk of Irene Camp, No. 2323, Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, having held this office
for several years, while he has been correspond-
ent of the Tri-County Homestead, No. 647. at
Irene, since the time of it? organization, in 1901.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
995
His religious faith is that of the Dutch Reformed
church, in which he was reared.
On the 4th of October, 1892, was solemnized
the marriage of ^Ir. Skillman to Miss Mary E.
Schaetzel, of Sioux Falls, she being the only
daug^hter of Jacob Schaetzel. Jr. She was born
in Freeport, Illinois, on the 8th of January, 1872,
and was but three years of age at the time of her
parents' removal to Sioux Falls, where she was
reared and educated. She was the first, gradu-
ate in music in All Saints' school, in this city.
Both her father and mother were born in Wis-
consin, the maiden name of the latter having been
Catherine Brenner, and all of her grandparents
were native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Skill-
man have two children, Roy Jacob, who was born
at Sioux Falls, Augaist 14, 1893, and Katherine
Anna, who was born in Irene, February 10, 1895.
JACOB SCHNAIDT, one of the prominent
business men of Menno, Hutchinson county, is
a native of southern Russia, where he was born
November 10, 1S47, ^ son of Frederick W. and
Salomea (Herr) Schnaidt, to whom were born
two children, Frederick having died at the age of
one year. The parents of the subject passed their
lives in southern Russia, the father having- there
been engaged in agricultural pursuits during his
active life, being a man of prominence and in-
fluence in the community, and having held for
several years the office of mayor of the town of
Cassel, in which he maintained his home. His
father. Frederick W. Schnaidt, was born in Ger-
manv, whence he emigrated to Russia in 1807,
and he likewise was mayor of Cassel for a num-
ber of years and wielded marked influence in
public affairs of local nature. The subject of this
sketch passed his youthful days on the homestead
farm and secured such educational advantages as
were afforded in the schools of the locality. Upon
attaining maturity he continued his identification
with agriculture, while in his native place he was
married, in 1868, to Miss Catherine Mehlhaf.
In 1873 they set forth to seek their fortunes in
America, arriving in due time in New York
city and thence coming to what is now South
Dakota. Mr. Schnaidt forthwith took up a pre-
emption claim in Bon Homme county, but a
year later he removed to Yankton, where he se-
cured employment as a salesman in the hardware
establishment of the firm of Dudley & Hawley,
with whom he remained about five years, at
the expiration of which he engaged in the same
line of business upon his own responsibility.
Yankton being then the capital of the ter-
ritory. In 1 88 1 he sold his business and came
to jMenno, where he opened a hardware store,
successfully conducting the same until 1887,
when he disposed of the enterprise and engaged
in the lumber business, this undertaking like-
wise prospering under his able supervision. In
1898 IMr. Schnaidt sold his lumber yard and
purchased the hardware store and business which
he had previously owned, and to the same he has
since given his attention, controlling a trade
which extends throughout the wide area of coun-
try naturally tributary to the town and being
known as one of the county's most progressive
and reliable business men. He is the owner of
four hundred and eighty acres of valuable land
in the county, and the same is well improved.
In politics Mr. Schnaidt gives an unfaltering
allegiance to the Republican party, in whose
councils he is a prominent figure in the state. In
1882 he was elected county commissioner, serv-
ing two terms, while- he was a member of the
territorial legislature in 1887, serving one term.
In 1890 he was elected to represent his district
in the state senate, serving through the general
assembly of the ensuing year and still farther
proving his loyalty to and interest in the state
with whose interests he has so long been
identified. In igoi he was appointed a member
of the state board of charities and corrections
and is incumbent of this office at the time of this
writing. He and his wife are prominent mem-
bers of the German Reformed church. They are
the parents of thirteen children, namely : Jacob,
Jr., who is engaged in the real-estate, loan and
insurance business in Menno ; Christoph, who
is now a resident of Lodi, California; Emil, who
is with his father in the store; Henry, who is a
druggist in Groton, this state; Edward, who is
996
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
preparing- himself for the profession of dentistry ;
and Magdalena, William, Lydia, Helmuth,
Martha, Herbert, Gideon and Theodore, all of
Avhom remain at the parental home.
C. A. ERLANDSOX, senior member of the
firm of Erlandson & Johnson, general merchants,
of Milbank, is another of the sons of the North-
land who have contribnted so materially to the
industrial, business and civic development and
progress of South Dakota. "Sir. Erlandson was
born in Sweden, on the 20th of August, 1847,
and is the son of parents wlio passed their entire
lives in their native land. The subject was edu-
cated in the excellent schools of Sweden and
Avhcn but scarcely attained to manhood he set
forth to seek his fortune in America. After sev-
eral years he came to South Dakota and located
in the newly founded village of Milbank, with
whose upbuilding and business interests he has
been identified, while he lias attained a high de-
gree of prosperity and is known as one of the
reliable and straightforward business men and
valuable citizens of the town and county in which
he has made his home for nearly a quarter of a
centurv.
JA:\IES DONNELLY, one of the leading
farmers and stock raisers of Bon Homme county,
was born April 19. 185 1. at Black Earth, Dane
county, Wisconsin, and is the oldest of a family
of six children, whose parents, Frank and Nancy
(Reegan) Donnelly, were natives of Ireland.
Shortly after their marriage Frank Donnelly and
wife came to America and settled in Dane county,
Wisconsin, where they continued to reside from
1850 to 1 86 1. In the latter year, with several
other families, they started west and in due time
reached Niobrara, Nebraska, where they made
settlement and purchased government land, being
among the first pioneers in that part of the state.
Mr. Donnelly improved his land and lived on the
same for a period of five years, at the end of
Mdiich time he sold out and moved to Bon Homme
county. South Dakota, locating in Ruiming Wa-
ter township, where he and his wife spent the
remainder of their <la\s. Ijoth dying in the year
1902, she in April .-ind he in the month of Octo-
ber. By occupation Mr. Donnelly was a black-
smith, w hich trade he followed exclusively in his
native country, but after coming to the United
States the greater part of his attention was de-
voted to agricultural pursuits. As stated above,
the subject of this review is the oldest of the
children born to Frank and Nancy Donnelly, the
others being Mary, widow of Michael O'Shea :
Hannah, wife of William Rogers, of Bon
Homme county ; Margaret, who married James
McKenna and lives in Yankton county ; Frank
E. dives in Nebraska, and John, whose home is
in Alberta, Canada.
James Donnelly was ten years old when he ac-
companied his parents on their removal to Ne-
braska and he retains vivid recollections of the
long and somewhat wearisome journey by ox-
team to their new home in the west. He came
with the family to South Dakota and at the age
of twenty-two left the parental roof and entered
one hundred and sixty acres in section 15. Run-
ning Water township, in addition to which he also
took up the same amount of land in section 14,
both of which tracts he at once proceeded to
improve. After residing on his original purchase
until 1885, he bought the quarter section where
he now lives, but since then he has added to its
area until the farm now includes four hundred
and eighty acres of fine land, admirablv situated
in one of the richest agricultural districts of Bon
Homme county.
Mr. Donnelly has brought his place to a high
state of tillage, besides making a number of valu-
able improvements thereon, his elegant and com-
modious modern dwelling, erected in 1899, be-
ing one of the finest and most attractive country
residences in the township of Running Water.
While enjoying marked prestige as an enterpris-
ing agriculturist, he makes stock raising his
principal business and since the year 1880 his at-
tention has been largely devoted to this impor-
tant industry. He breeds and raises a fine grade
of Durham cattle, pays considerable attention to
hogs and for some years past has made a spe-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ciallv of Percheron and coach horses, of which
he keeps a large number and for which there is
ahvays a lively demand at good prices.
;\Ir. Donnelly is a man of progressive ideas
and tendencies and to him as much as to any
other individual is due the advancement of Run-
ning Water township along material lines and
the prosperity of its people. In politics he has
been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party
ever since old enough to cast a ballot, but his
inclination has never led him to seek office or as-
pire to leadership. Religiously he was born and
reared in the Catholic church and still adheres
loyally to that faith, belonging with his family
to the congregation at Running Water.
In Tnne, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of
^Ir. Donnelly and Miss Kate Milligan. the httcr
a native of County Roscommon, Ireland, and the
daughter of James and Alary Milligan. Mrs.
Donnelly came to this country in 1S70,
her parents remaining in Ireland the re-
mainder of their lives, the mother dying
186(^1, the father in the vcar
^73-
Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly are the parents of nine
children : Frank, formerly a teacher in the pub-
lic schools, but now his father's assistant on the
farm ; James E.. also at home : Winnie, wife of
Lawrence Wilson, of Running Water : Annie,
'vho taught for five years in the county schools,
but at this time runs a dressmaking establish-
ment in the city of Yankton ; Mary, Maggie,
Katie, Zoie and Laura, the last five, with an
adopted daughter by the name of Lillie Moore,
a popular teacher of six years' experience, but
now married to James Gayner. of Springfield,
Bon Homme county. South Dakota, being mem-
bers of the home circle.
JOHX SCH:\1TERER, Jr.. cashier of the
German American Bank at Parkston. Hutchin-
son county, and recognized as one of the able
young business men of this section of the state,
was born in the soutbpastern part of Russia, be-
ing a son of John and Elizabeth (Becker) Schmi-
erer. emigrating with his family to the Ignited
States, locating in Scotland, Bon Homme
county. South Dakota, the state being at that
time still a portion of the great undivided ter-
ritory of Dakota. He established himself in the
hardware and fann-implement business and there
continued to be successfully engaged in business
for several years. Subsequently he purchased
the Parkston State Bank and reorganized the
same, of which he has ever since been president,
while the subject of this sketch was made cashier
at the time of reorganization, the bank being one
of the solid and popular monetary institutions of
this section, while it is incorporated under the
title of the German American Bank.
The suljject of this sketch was still an infant
at the time of his parents' emigration to America,
and he has thus passed practically his entire life
in South Dakota. After completing the curricu-
lum of the public schools he continued his stud-
ies in the State Lhiiversity. and supplemented this
bv a course in the Bryant & Stratton Business
College at Chicago, Illinois. After completing his
work in that institution he was employed for one
y-ear bv a business firm of that city, and was then
compelled to resign his position by reason of a
severe attack of illness. He then returned to his
home in South Dakota, and for a while was em-
ployed in the Bank of Scotland, after which he
was' made cashier of the German American Bank
of Parkston, of which position he has ever since
been incumbent.
IMORDECAI WILLSON, M. D.— The suc-
cess achieved by this scholarly and enterprising
physician and surgeon has won him recognition
among the leading men of his profession, not
only in the city of his residence, but throughout
this section of the state, he being regarded as
one of the most skilled surgeons in the north-
west, while his success in the treatment of dis-
eases peculiar to the female sex has gained him
a prestige such as few attain.
Dr. Willson was born in New Y^ork state ami
spent his early years there, entering, as soon as
old enough, the ptiblic schools, after which he
prosecuted his studies for some years in an
academy. Still later he entered an educational
998
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
institution in Vermont, and there applied him-
self very closely to study, the meanwhile receiv-
ing special training on the violin, an instrument
for which he early manifested a fondness. Leav-
ing the above institution he continued his musical
studies under the direction of competent in-
structors, making rapid advancement and be-
coming an accomplished violinist. He taught
music and also played in a number of high-class
concerts both in Canada and the United States.
During the latter year of his concert work
Dr. Willson studied medicine and later entered
the Detroit Medical College, from which he was
graduated. Prior to his becoming a student of
the above institution, he was united in marriage
with Miss Helen Volser, and after his graduation
removed to Kansas, where he practiced his pro-
fession very successfully during the following
several years. He then located in Nebraska,
where he did a large professional business, also
erecting and maintaining a hospital.
Disposing of his interests in Nebraska. Dr.
Willson came to Yankton, South Dakota, where
he has since been actively engaged in the practice
of his profession, devoting special attention to
surgery and female diseases, in both of which
lines his success has been such as to gain him
much more than local repute. As a surgeon he
ranks with the ablest in the state, halving per-
formed many difficult operations.
JOHN FAGAN.— The well-improved and
valuable ranch of the subject is eligibly located,
in Potter county, ten miles southeast of the thriv-
ing town of Gettysburg, and he is known as one
of the energetic and successful farmers and stock
growers of this section of the state.
Mr. Fagan is a native of Iowa, and his father
emigrated from the fair Emerald Isle to America,
first locating in the city of Philadelphia, and
later becoming a pioneer of Iowa.
Mr. Fagan passed his youthful years in Iowa
and Illinois, and his educational advantages were
those afiforded by the public schools. He came to
South Dakota in 1884, and in the following
spring he took up government land ten miles
southeast of Forest City, Potter county, and there
devoted his attention to farming and stock rais-
ing until 1900, when he disposed of his property
in that location and purchased his present finv^
estate, which is one of the valuable places of this
portion of the state, the same being equipped with
substantial buildings and having excellent fa-
cilities for the raising of stock as well as for the
raising of large crops of farm products best
adapted to the soil and climate.
C. W. LEANING, a representative of the
agricultural interests of South Dakota and one
of the leading farmers of Yankton county, was
born in Otsego county. New York, in 1853, and
is a son of William and Phoebe A. (Thom)
Leaning. The father was born in Lincolnshire,
England, April 16, 1825, and in 1851 was
brought to America. He became a resident of
New York, settling near Cooperstown, and there,
when he arrived at years of maturity, he wedded
IMiss Thorn. In the year 1867 he came with his
family to South Dakota, making his way to Deni-
son, Iowa, on the train, thence to Sioux City ho-
stage and from there coming up the river on the
boat "Paragon" to Yankton, thus becoming
identified with pioneer interests in this section of
the state. There they resided in a house with five
other families for three weeks. On coming to
Yankton, Mr. Leaning secured one hundred and
sixty acres of land, which he entered from the
government and upon which he built a log house
and began the development of a farm. ]\Iany
perils and difficulties were to be borne by the I
early settlers. Not only did they fear Indian I
attacks, but their crops were destroyed by grass-
hoppers and all the inconveniences and difficulties
of pioneer life were to be met. Mr. Leaning. 1
however, persevered in his work until he at- I
tained success, becoming the owner of a valu- '
able property here. At the time of the Civil
war he strongly advocated the Union cause and
joined the army. In 1863, while in his tent, he
was wounded and lost one of his fingers. He
was a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and a genial gentleman of sterling worth.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
999
having the warm regard of many friends, tak-
ing pride not only in the progress of his own
affairs but did everything in his power to aid in
the development and upbuilding of his country.
He died in February, 1903, while his wife passed
awav in November, 1902, and thus the country
lost two of its most honored pioneers and valued
citizens. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leaning were bom
four children : Elsie A., Mary., C. W-, and Alice,
Imt the last named is now deceased. The daugh-
ter Elsie became the wife of George W. Owens
and unto them have been born three children, of
whom one died in infancy, while the son,
Chauncv, and the daughter, ]\Iary Alice, are yet
under the parental roof. Their son loyally es-
poused the cause of his countn,- in the Spanish-
American war and became a member of Company
C, First Regiment South Dakota \'olunteers. He
went as far as San Francisco and was there
taken ill, after which he was sent home. He
joined the army in May and returned in Sep-
tember. He was sergeant of his company and
was popular with his comrades. An enterpris-
ing young business man of Yankton county, he
is now engaged extensively and successfull_y in
the poultry business, making a specialty of rais-
ing and breeding Plymouth Rock poultry.
C. W. Leaning spent his boyhood and youth
in the Empire state and acquired his education
in the public schools there, \^'ith the family he
came to the west and has since carried on general
farming in this portion of the country, becom-
ing one of the successful and leading agricultur-
ists of the community. He is now the owner of
forty acres of good land, all of which is under
cultivation and returns to him very desirable
crops because of the care and labor he bestows
on it. He has lived here since the days when
antelopes were seen on the prairie and when there
were many wolves and wild game.
On the 23d of May, 1892, Mr. Leaning was
united in marriage to Aliss Minnie E. Batchellor,
a daughter of Watson and Elizabeth Batchellor,
natives of Illinois. The father was a farmer and
carpenter. Unto ]\Ir. and Mrs. Leaning were
born four children, a little boy, Mary A., Byron
C. and Phebe. of whom all but the youngest
died in infancy. Mrs. Leaning died in Septem-
ber, 1899, and Phebe, a girl of seven, is now
with her father and aunt, Mrs. Owens, at the old
home.
In his political \-iews Mr. Leaning is an earn-
est Republican, keeping well informed on the
issues of the day and giving his earnest support
to his party. He belongs to the Congregational
church, with which he has been identified since
his removal to the west. Mr. Leaning also be-
longs to Modern Woodman Camp Xo. 1557, and
in matters of citizenship is public-spirited and
progressive, taking an active interest in every-
thing pertaining to the upbuilding of his com-
munity.
W. F. STEARXS. treasurer of Douglas
county, was born on a farm in Seneca county,
Ohio, on the 15th of September, 1850. being the
eldest of the four surviving children of John B.
and Adaline H. (Kelly) Stearns. His brother
Alden W. is a broker of mining stock, residing
in Garden Grove, Iowa ; Clara is the wife of J.
D. Bartow, of Plankinton, South Dakota: and
Grace is the wife of J. E. Vail, of Garden Grove,
Iowa. The father of the subject was born in the
state of X^ew York, and when he was five vears
of age his parents emigrated thence to Ohio,
becoming pioneers of that commonwealth, and
there he was reared to maturity on a farm, secur-
ing a common-school education. He continued
to be engaged in agricultural pursuits in Seneca
county until 1883. when he rented his fine farm,
comprising three himdred and sixtv acres, and
came west, taking up a homestead claim in what
is Beadle county. South Dakota. After proving
up on his claim he returned to Ohio, where he
remained one year, at the expiration of which he
returned to South Dakota and located in the
village of Plankinton, where he became promi-
nently identified with the grain and live-stock
business, continuing operations in the line until
his death, which there occurred in 1890, at which
time he was sixty-six years of age. He was a
stanch Republican in politics, and though he
never sought office he was an important factor in
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
the councils of his party while a resident of Ohio,
having been a close personal friend of ex-Gover-
nor Charles Foster, whose home was in Seneca
county, and having been one of his able lieu-
tenants in various campaigns. He was a mem-
ber of the Methodist church and was a man of
marked business acumen and sterling character,
commanding the respect of all who knew him.
His wife, who was likewise born in Ohio, is now
living at Garden Grove, Iowa.
W. F. Stearns was reared on the homestead
farm and secured his educational discipline in
the public schools of his native county. Upon at-
taining maturity he assumed charge of the home
farm, to whose management he continued to
give his attention until 1877, when he came to the
west, locating in ^^'iIson county, Kansas, where
he secured a tract of land and was engaged in
farming about eight years. In the spring of 1885
he came to what is now the state of South Da-
kota and located in Plankinton, where he was
engaged in the buying and shipping of grain un-
til 1893, having built up a large and profitable
enterprise in the line. In the year mentioned he
removed to Armour, where he has since main-
tained his home. Here he established a general
mercantile business, becoming one of the pioneer
business men of the town and one of its leading
citizens, and he continued this business until the
autumn of 1902, when he disposed of the same,
since which time he has given his entire attention
to his official duties and to the supervision of his
private interests.
j\Ir. Stearns is one of the wheelhorses of the
Democratic party in this section, having been an
efficient worker in its cause. In July. i8g8, he
was appointed to the office of county treasurer, to
fill the vacancy caused by the death of the regular
incumbent, the late J. F. James, and in the elec-
tion of November, 1900, he was returned to the
office by popular vote, giving so able an adminis-
tration as to lead to his re-election as his own
successor in the autumn of 1902, so that he is
now serving his third consecutive term as county
treasurer. He was for a number of years a mem-
Ijer of the board of education and at all times
manifests a livelv interest in all that concerns the
welfare and advancement of his home town and
county. Fraternally he is identified with Arcania
Lodge, No. 18, Free and Accepted Masons ; with
Armour Tent, No. 18, Knights of the !\Iacca-
bees, and with Plankinton Lodge, No. '/J, Ancient
Order of L'nited Workmen.
On the 2ist of October, 1875, was solemnized
the marriage of ]\Ir. Stearns to Miss Alice C.
Her. who was born and reared in Seneca county,
Ohio, being a daughter of Conrad and Julia Her,
and the subject and his wife are the parents of
four children: Pearl H.. Lloyd A.. Grace and
Walter, all of whom remain beneath the parental
rooftree.
GEORGE D. CORD, one of the founders
and builders of the attractive and thriving town of
Delmont. Douglas county, and the president of
the Security .State Bank of Delmont, was born
in Kaukauna. Outagamie county, Wisconsin, on
the 8th of September, 1866, being a son of
Charles and Mary (Knapp) Cord, of whose five
children we enter the following brief record :
Catherine A. is the wife of William Dyke, of
Effingham, Illinois ; Mary died IMarch 24, 1904.
and was the wife of Howard Parmelee, of Lin-
coln, Nebraska;, Dr. Charles E. is a practicing
physician at Chicago Heights, Illinois ; Mark D.
is a resident of Danbury, Iowa, having been
engaged in the real-estate business, but being now
retired : and George D. is the immediate subject
of this sketch. The honored father was born in
Lincolnshire. England, about the year 1835, and
was there reared and educated, learning the trade
of millwright. In 1854 he came to the United
States, locating in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where
he was employed as a miller for a number of
years, in different mills. Later he became the
owner of a mill at Barton, that state, operating
the same for several years, and while there resid-
ing his marriage was solemnized. He finally re-
moved to Kaukauna, where he built a flouring
mill, operating the same about five years, this be-
ing at the time of the Civil war. He had a large
stock of flour on hand and at the time of Lee's
surrender there was so great a depreciation in the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
value of this commodity that he met with great
financial loss, being forced into bankruptcy. He
then removed to Madison, Wisconsin, where he
secured employment in the mills, continuing to be
thus engaged until he had to a degree recouped
his financial resources. He then removed to An-
amosa, Iowa, where he erected mills, and in 1881
he located in Oakland, Nebraska, where he op-
erated a mill about four years, and there he met
his death as the result of an accident. He was
preparing to clean a revolver, and in taking the
same from a trunk the lid fell in such a way as to
discharge the weapon, the shot causing his death
within ten minutes. He was at the time prepar-
ing to come to the Black Hills district of Dakota,
to take charge of milling properties. He was a
man of excellent business ability and sterling
character, was a Republican in politics, a com-
municant of the Protestant Episcopal church and
a member of the Masonic fraternity. His widow,
who was born in the state of New York, now
resides in the home of her elder daughter, in Ef-
fingham, Illinois, she likewise being a devoted
communicant of the Episcopal church.
George D. Cord, the immediate subject of
this sketch, was reared under the grateful influ-
ences of a refined and cultured home, and secured
his educational discipline in the public schools,
completing his studies in the high school at Ana-
mosa, Iowa. At the age of sixteen years he se-
cured a position in a job-printing office in Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, where he remained one year.
gaining an excellent knowledge of the "art pre-
servative." He then entered the service of the
Chicago. St. Paul, i\Iinneapolis & Omaha Rail-
road, in the capacity of station agent, remaining
in the employ of this company for a period of
about sixteen years, within which was located at
various points on the line of the system, having
been for thirteen years the agent at Coleridge,
Nebraska. In 1899, at which time he was agent
at Harrington, Nebraska, he resigned his position
and forthwith came to South Dakota, locating in
Delmont, Douglas county, the town having at the
time a population of only eighty persons, and here
he engaged in the real-estate business, bringing
to bear in his operations the characteristic push
and energy with which he is so eminently en-
dowed. Mr. Cord has bought and sold much of
the village property and also the major portion
of the land for miles around, having been largely
instrumental in bringing here a desirable class
of settlers, who have developed rich and pro-
ductive farms and have been signally prospered.
It may be safely said that to him more than to
any other one man is due this gratifying devel-
opment of this section, while he has so ordered
his course as to gain and retain the highest confi-
dence and esteem of all. In January, 1903, he
effected the organization of the Security State
Bank, in which he owns the controlling stock,
and he is president of this institution, which is
ably conducted and which is accorded an appre-
ciative support in the community. In politics he
is a stalwart advocate of the principles and poli-
cies of the Republican party, in whose cause he
has been an active and valued worker, and during
the campaign of 1902 he was a member of the
state executive committee of his party, while at
the time of this writing he is a member of the
county executive committee. His religious faith
is that of the Episcopal church, and fraternally
he is prominently identified with the Masonic
order, being affiliated with Arcania Lodge, No.
97, Free and Accepted Masons, at Armour;
Scotland Qiapter, No. 31, Royal Arch Masons,
at Scotland; St. Bernard Commandery, No. 11,
Knights Templar, at Mitchell ; Oriental Consist-
ory, No. I, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite,
at Yankton, and El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at
Sioux Falls.
On the 20th of January, 1886, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Cord to Miss Carrie F.
Jones, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and thev have
two sons. Charles B. and Arthur E.
CHARLES A. BROWN, M. D., who is suc-
cessfully engaged in the practice of his profes-
sion at Armour, Douglas county, was born on a
farm in Tama county, Iowa, on the 22d of Janu-
ary, 1868, and is a son of George and Sarah
(Phillips) Brown, both of whom were born and.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
reared in the state of Pennsylvania, where they
were married. Soon afterward they removed to
Iowa, locating in Iowa City, and later removing
to Tama county, where Mr. Brown took up a
homestead claim, to whose improvement and
cultivation he continued to devote his attention
until the earlv "eighties, when he retired from
active labor, taking up his residence in Waterloo,
that state, where he now maintains his home,
giving a general supervision to his landed and
capitalistic interests. He is a Republican in
politics but is a stanch advocate of the prohibition
of the liquor traffic, which result he believes must
be accomplished through the interposition of one
of the dominating political parties. He and his
wife are zealous members of the Baptist church.
Dr. Brown was reared on the homestead fanri
and after attending the district schools he enteied
the high scliool in Waterloo, where he was gradu-
ated. While still a student in the high school he
began teaching, having been thus engaged three
winter terms, and he simultaneously prosecuted
his medical studies, under the preceptorship of
Dr. A. L. Martin, of Clinton, Iowa, under who.sc
direction he later continued to prosecute his
technical study during his college vacations. In
the autumn of 1888 the subject was matriculated
in the medical department of the Iowa State
University, at Iowa Citv. where he was gradu-
ated in the spring of 1891, receiving his coveted
degree of Doctor of Medicine. For a few
month-s after his graduation the Doctor was as-
sociated in practice with Dr. William Woodburn,
of Spencer, Iowa, and he then established him-
self in practice at Lamont, that state, where he
built up an excellent practice, remaining for a
number of years. In January, 1898, he sold his
practice in Spencer and came to Armour, South
Dakota, and here he has gained prestige as one
of the thoroughly skilled and discriminating
members of his profession in the state. He is a
stanch Republican in his political proclivities, and
he is at the present time incumbent of the office
of superintendent of the Douglas countv board
of health, according no nominal service but mak-
i"g it a pnint to insure the best possible sanitary
conditions throutrhout his jurisdiction. He is a
member of Arcania Lodge. No. 91, Free and
Accepted ]\[asons; Armour Lodge, No. 25,
Knights of Pythias, in whose affairs he takes a
particularlv active interest; Armour Camp, No.
2475, Modem \A'oodmen of .America, and Ar-
mour Tent, No. 18, Knights of the Maccabees.
He is medical examiner for the two lodges last
mentioned and also for several of the old-line in-
surance companies having local representation.
On the T<)th of August, 1893, Dr. Brown was
united in marriage to ^liss Helen M. Stewart, of
Lamont, Iowa, and they have four sons, George
L., Charles E., Otho S. and Leland.
D. L. P. LAMB.— Judge Lamb is now serv-
ing his third term as countv judge in Charles
Mix countv, maintaining his residence in the
town of Geddes, and merits consideration as one
of the able members of the bar of the state. He
is a native of the Wolverine state, having been
born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, on the 15th
of June, 1852, and being a son of John and \^ir-
ginia (Newkirk) Lamb, of whose nine children
all save one are still living. The father of the
subject was born in Pennsylvania, where lie was
reared and educated, having grown np under the
sturdy discipline of the farm. His p-in nts came
to the L^nited States from Holland and located in
the old Keystone state, where they passed the
remainder of their lives. As a young man John
Lamb removed to Ohio, settling near Lancaster,
Fairfield county, where his marriage occurred,
his wife having been a native of Westmoreland
countv. West \'irginia, where her father was a
wealthy manufacturer and slaveholder, while
eventually she and several of her brothers became
residents of Ohio. John Lamb was engaged in
farming in Fairfield county, Ohio, until about
1850, when he removed to Michigan and settled
in Hillsdale county, where he continued in agri-
cultural pursuits, becoming one of the substantial
farmers and honored citizens of that countv. in
which he passed the residue of his life, his dc-Uh
occurring in 1881. at which time he was seventv-
two years of age, while his devoted wife passed
av.^ay in 1903, at the age of eighty-four years.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1003
both having been consistent members of the Ger-
man Reformed church, while he was a Democrat
in his political adherency.
Judge Lamb was reared on the homestead
farm and his early educational advantages were'
such as were afforded in the public schools of his
native county. In 1875 he came west to the
western part of Nebraska, where he spent about
a year on the ranch of his uncle, returning home
in 1876, while he continued to devote his atten-
tion to study as opportunity presented, having
gained much through his well-directed applica-
tion. In 1880 he came to Fort Randall, Dakota,
where he secured employment in a trader's store
and also secured contracts for supplying wood.
In 1882 he came to Charles Mix county and en-
tered timber and pre-emption claims, in Jack-
son township, proving up on the same in due
time, and in the spring of 1885 he located in the
village of Wheeler, this count), where he was
soon afterward appointed deputy sheriff, serving
one year in this capacity, and at the expiration
of that period, in July, 1886, he was appointed
to the office of clerk, of the district court by Judge
Bartlett Tripp, retaining this incumbency until
the admission of South Dakota to the Union, re-
tiring from the office in November, 1890. In the
meanwhile he had continued his study of the law,
and was admitted to the bar of the territory in
June, 1889, since which time he has been en-
gaged in the practice of his profession to a
greater or less extent. The winter after his re-
tirement from the office of clerk Judge Lamb
engaged in the abstract business, in partnership
with Frank Adams, whose interest in the enter-
prise he purchased in 1892, and he still conducts
an abstract business in Wheeler. In 1894 he was
elected to the office of state's attorney, on the
Democratic ticket, serving two years, and in 1896
the financial policy of the Democracy failed to
meet his approval and he transferred his alle-
giance to the Republican party, being an active
worker in the presidential campaign of that year.
In 1896 he was the candidate of his party for
the office of county judge and was elected by a
gratifying majority, but in the election of 1898
he was defeated for the same office, while in 1900
he was again elected to the bench and was chosen
as his own successor in 1902, being now on his
third term and having proved a most impartial
and fair-minded member of the judiciary of the
state. After the town of Geddes was platted
and its settlement was instituted, in 1900, Judge
Lamb removed from Wheeler to the new and
enterprising town, with whose phenomenal prog-
ress and growth he has been thus identified from
the start. He was appointed United States com-
missioner in January, 1902, and is still incuinbent
of this office, being one of the most prominent
and influential citizens of the county in which
he has so long maintained his home and in whose
welfare he has an abiding interest. While a resi-
dent of Wheeler he served as postmaster during
both administrations of President Cleveland,
while for several years he has held the office of
notary public. He and his wife are members of
the Congregational church, and fraternally the
Judge is identified with Geddes Lodge. No. 135,
Free and Accepted Masons, and Mitchell Chap-
ter, No. 16, Royal Arch Masons.
On the 6th of May, 1890, Judge Lamb was
united in marriage to Miss Caroline McLain,
of this county, and they are the parents of four
children, Charles E., Fred. Daniel L. P., Jr., and
Iril C.
HON. JOHN S. BEAN is a native of the
old Granite state, having been born in Warner,
Merrimac county. New Hampshire, on the i6th
of Februan', 1839, a son of James and Marinda
(Stewart) Bean, and the old homestead in which
he first saw the light of day was likewise the
birthplace of his honored father, who there passed
his entire life, which was devoted to agricultural
pursuits. He lived to attain the venerable age
of eighty-two years and traced his lineage back
to one of two brothers, John and David Bean,
who were born in Scotland, whence they went
to England, from which "tight little isle" they
emigrated to America in 1668, settling near his-
toric old Plymouth, in the colony of Massachu-
setts, whence their descendants later scattered
through various parts of New England. The
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
mother of the subject was Hkewise born in New
Hampshire, whither her parental grandparents
came from Ireland. She died at the age of
thirty years, and of her three children the sub-
ject is the only one living at the present time.
James Bean became a member of the Know-
nothing party at the time of its organization and
later became a radical Republican, and while he
never sought official preferment he was called
upon to serve on the town board for many years
and also held other offices of local trust.
John S. Bean was reared to the sturdy dis-
cipline of the New England farm and his early
educational training was secured in the com-
mon schools, and supplemented by a two-years
course in the New Hampton Academy. It was
his desire to be graduated in this institution^ but
his financial resources reached so low an ebb that
he was compelled to withdraw at the end of two
years, and he then, at the age of nineteen, be-
gan teaching in the schools of his native state,
devoting his attention to the pedagogic profes-
sion for three winters. In March, 1861, he left
the ancestral home and set forth upon his in-
dependent career, being dependent upon his own
resources in facing the battle of life. He came
west to Wisconsin, where he called upon his
uncle, C. K. Stewart, whom he found confined to
his bed with an illness which promised to be pro-
tracted, and under these conditions he was
pressed into service and took charge of his uncle's
farm. The Civil war commenced in April of that
year and the subject was most anxious to at once
tender his services in defense of the Union, but
he was not able to leave his uncle until the 22d
of October, 1862, when he enlisted as a private
in Company D, Sixteenth Wisconsin A'olunteer
Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front,
the regiment being assigned to the Army of the
Tennessee. The regiment was in Prentice's di-
vision at the memorable battle of Shiloh, and this
division was captured by the enemy, our subject
having escaped this fate by reason of the fact
that he had been wounded on the morning of the
same day and thus incapacitated for service. He
was in the hospital at Savannah. Georgia, and
Mount \'ernon, Indiana, about three months.
after which he returned to Wisconsin and was
detailed to recruiting service, being located in
turn at Columbus, Beaver Dam and Madison. In
February, 1863, Mr. Bean rejoined his regiment,
at Lake Providence, Louisiana, but the effects of
the wound in his arm were such that he could not
handle a gun, and he was thus detailed as clerk
of courts martial and the quartermaster's de-
partment, serving in this capacity for three
months, at the expiration of which the court was
disbanded and he was then detailed to the quar-
termaster's department alone. He was finally
made chief clerk under the contriband bureau.
After serving three months he went with his
regiment to A'icksburg, but did not take part in
the engagement there, and the winter was passed
in Redbone, Mississippi, whence they returned to
A'icksburg in the spring, Mr. Bean's company at
this time reorganized and Mr. Bean was com-
missioned as second lieutenant in a colored com-
pany, with which he later took part in the ten-
days siege before Blakely and the fourteen-days
siege of Mobile. Still later the regiment em-
barked on a transport for Selma, Alabama, and
while enroute learned of Lee's surrender. The
subject was thereafter on provost duty for sev-
eral months, and the command was finally sent
to Baton Rouge, where they received honorable
discharge on the 4th of January. 1866. Before
this he had been promoted to first lieutenant. Mr.
Bean then visited his old home in New Hamp-
shire, and shortly afterward went again to Wis-
consin. ■ At the time of his discharge he was
importuned to remain in the south as a member
of a regiment which there continued in service
two years after the close of the war, and though
he was offered a commission as captain he did
not deem it expedient to accept the overtures.
After his return to Wisconsin Mr. Bean en-
gaged in farming, in Dodge county, becoming
the owner of a good property, and there he re-
mained until Mav, 1882, when he came to
Douglas county, South Dakota, taking up a pre-
emption claim four miles northeast of the present
village of Armour, the county seat, where he con-
tinued to devote his attention to the improvement
and cultivation of his farm until the autumn of
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
i8qo, when he took up his residence in Armour.
Tn November of the same year he was elected a
member of the state senate, serving; one term,
and in the fall election of 1892 he was chosen to
represent b.is district in the lower house of the
Ico-islature, in which he likewise served one term.
He then engaged in the real-estate and insurance
business in Armour and later also became
identified with the undertaking business here,
having nn\\;^ retired from the two former enter-
Tirises. He served one year as township treasurer
.•md three years as township clerk, while his was
the distinction of having been elected the first
county clerk and register of deeds after the re-
organization of the countv. He was incumbent
of the office of justice of the peace for several
\-cars and since 1895 he has held the office of
weighmaster at Armour. At the present time he 1
is a member of the board of county commis- I
sioners. His religious faith is that of the Free-
will Baptist church, but as there is no organiza-
tion of this denomination in Armour he attends
the services of the Baptist church. He is a
charter member of Arcania Lodge, No. 97, Free
and Accepted Masons, of which he was the first
worshipful master, serving three years, and he
is an honored member of O. P. Morton Post,
No. 51, Grand Armv of the Republic, of which
he is now serving for tiie sixth consecutive 3'ear
as commander.
On the 26th of October, 1864, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Bean to Miss Ellen C. East-
man, of Warner, New Hampshire, who proved
to him a devoted wife and helpmeet until she
was summoned into eternal rest, on the 19th ,of
August, 1899. They became the parents of two
children. Mabel died at the age of twenty-two
years, and Jennie, the wife of George E. Sanders,
of Armour, with whom the subject now makes
his home.
HENRY C. TUCKER, of Geddes, editor
and publisher of the Qiarles Mix County News,
\\-as born in New York, on the 30th of October,
18.S-!. being a son of Samuel and Martha
( Crumb "i Tucker, of whose seven children four
are yet living. The father of the subject was
born in Madison county, New York, whither his
father removed from Massachusetts, while the
father of the latter was a soldier under General.
Putnam in the war of the Revolution. In one of
the battles in which he took part his hat was
almost shot to pieces, and General Putnam pre-
sented him with a new hat, recognizing the
braverv which he had displa)-cd in thus becom-
ing a mark for so many bullets. Upon attain-
ing manhood the father of our subject engaged
in farming and hop growing in his native county,
having planted the first field of hops in that sec-
tion of the state, and in connection with this line
of enterprise he became very successful, being
one of the substantial fanners and honored citi-
zens of Madison county at the time of his death,
which occurred in 1S88, at which time he was
sixtv vears of age. His widow still survives him
and resides on the old homestead farm. He was
a Democrat in politics and ever took a deep in-
terest in public affairs, though he never sought
official preferment.
Henry C. Tucker was reared on the home-
stead farm and early began to lend his aid in
connection with its cultivation. x\fter attending
the public schools of the locality he continued
his studies in the DeRuyter Institute and the
New York Central Conference Seminary, an in-
stitution conducted under the auspices of the
Methodist Episcopal church. In 1875 he came
to the west and located in Shelby county, Iowa,
v/here he bought a tract of land and engaged in
agricultural pursuits, while he also invested in a
ditching machine, which he operated throughout
that locality for several years, being one of the
pioneers in the locality and finding his machine
in much demand. In 1883 he disposed of his
interests in Iowa and came to Charles Mix
county. South Dakota, being numbered among
the first settlers in the county. He filed on a
claim in Jackson township, but after one year
sold his relinquishment to the same, and in July,
1884, in company with Qiarles W. Pratt, he
purchased the Oiarles Mix County News, a
weekly paper, which was at that time published
in the village of Darlington, its founding dating
[Oo6
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
back only to the ])receding November. In Oc-
tober, 1884, they removed the plant to Edgerton
and shortly afterward our subject purchased his
partner's interest in the enterprise and thereafter
continued the publication of the paper in
Darlington until I goo, when he removed his
plant to the new town of Geddes, his office build-
ing having been the third building erected in the
town and his paper the first to be published in
the town. The office of the News is well
equipped with modern machinery and other ac-
cessories, the old hand presses originally utilized
having been replaced by those of modern design,
while the paper has an excellent circulation
through the county. Mr. Tucker is one of the
town's most enthusiastic and loyal citizens and
is at the present time president of the village
council, and while a resident of Edgerton he
acted as postmaster of the place. He is a stanch
Republican in his political adherency and has
made his paper an effective exponent of the party
cause. Fraternally, he is identified with Geddes
Eodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and Signal
Camp, No. 444, Modern Woodmen of America,
of which latter he is venerable consul.
Mr. Tucker was united in marriage to Miss
"\"ictoria Ashby, of Shelby county, Iowa, and
thev are the parents of four children, Maud, who
is the wife of William Fowler, who is engaged in
the liunber business in Geddes ; Roy, who is in
the office with his father; Bert, who remains at
the parental home, and Ella, who is the wife of
Charles Zink, of this countv.
HORACE EUGENE THAYER, mayor of
Canton, Lincoln county, was born at Blissfield,
Uenawee county, Michigan, on the 28th of Feb-
ruary, 1859, being a son of Andrew J. and
Phoebe A. (Hill) Thayer. His father is of the
ninth generation of the family in America, being
a lineal descendant of Thomas Thayer, who set-
tled in Braintree, ]\Iassachusetts, in 1630, as one
of its original colonists, having come to the new
world from Braintree, Essex county, England.
Andrew J. Thayer was born in Cameron, Steu-
ben countv, New '^"ork, on the 12th of February,
1829, and his vocation in life has been that of
farming. He is a veteran of the war of the
Rebellion, having enlisted on the 27th of Febru-
ary, 1863, as a member of Company K, Eleventh
Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which was at-
tached to the Second Brigade of the First
Division of the Fourteenth Army Corps, and he
served until the close of the war, when he re-
ceived his honorable discharge. He is now a
resident of Hampton, Iowa, and his cherished
and devoted wife is also living. She wa§ born
on the 8th of April, 1839, at Petersburg, Lenawee
county, Michigan, her parents having been num-
bered among the earliest settlers of that county,
whither they emigrated from Vermont, in the
year 1830, nearly a decade before ^Michigan was
admitted to statehood.
Horace E. Thayer received his early educa-
tional training in the public schools of Allamakee
county, Iowa, and when seventeen years of age
he began teaching in that county, being thus
successfully employed for eight terms. He then
entered the telegraph office of the Iowa Central
Railroad at Mason City, Iowa, in 1883, and there
he devoted a period of six months to learning the
art of telegraphy. In August of thit year his
marriage was solemnized, and immediately there-
after he removed to Mason City, Iowa, where
he was given the position of night operator in
the station of the Iowa Central Railroad, retain-
ing this incumbency until the autumn of the fol-
lowing year, when he received promotion from
the hands of the company, being made rail-
way billing clerk at Hampton, Iowa. This
office he filled until the autumn of 18S6, when
he resigned from the employ of the Iowa
Central Company and returned to Mason City,
where for six months he held the position of
night agent in the general offices of the Chicago,
INIihvaukee & St. Paul Railroad, being then pro-
moted to the position of billing agent and two
weeks later to that of cashier, in tenure of which
responsible office he there continued for the en-
suing five years, at the expiration of which, in
1891, he received the promotion, over several
older employes, to the position of agent for the
company at Canton, South Dakota, where he en-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
tcred upon his executive duties on the 2d of
July of that year. He retained this position for
the long period of eight years, his service being
most acceptable to the company and gaining him
still further commendation, but his health had in
the meanwhile become somewhat impaired and
this fact, coupled with a desire for a change of
ocxupation, led him to resign his position on the
1st of May, 1899. ^I^ '^h^" entered into part-
nership vvith his brother-in-law, Thomas S. Stin-
son, and engaged in the general merchandise busi-
ness in Canton, the firm securing most eligible
and attractive quarters in the two-story stone
building known as the Postoffice block, while to
the new store was given the name of the Enter-
])rise, a designation which is most consistently
applied. The concern has taken a foremost po-
sition by reason of the progressive ideas and
correct methods brought to bear, and the busi-
ness controlled at the present time is second to
none of similar character in the county, while
both of the interested principals command the un-
qualified confidence and regard of all who know
them. The entire business and stock of the
Enterprise was purchased, Eebruary 8, 190J.. by
Horace E. Thayer, the enterprise being now con-
ducted under the firm n^nie of Horace E.
Thayer.
In politics Mr. Thayer has ever given a stanch
allegiance to the principles of the Republican
party and he has shown a deep interest in all that
concerns the welfare and progress of his home
city and county. He has served three terms as
a member of the board of aldermen of Canton,
having been first elected in i8q.^. while he was
chosen as his own successor in the following vear,
being again elected to the office in 1900. In 1902
he was elected to the mayoraltv of the city, for
a term of two years, and he has given a most able
and business-like administration of the municipal
government and has gained unequivocal endorse-
ment as a progressive and public-spirited ex-
ecutive. Fraternally, he is identified with the
Knights of Pythias and the Masonic order. He
became affiliated with the lodge of the former in
Mason City. Iowa, in 1890, and in 1892 trans-
ferred his membership to Canton Lodge, No. 52,
in Canton, of which he is past chancellor com-
mander. In June, 1902, he was initiated as entered
apprentice in Silver Star Lodge. No. 4, Free and
Accepted Masons, in which he was duly raised to
the master's degree.
At Eldora, Iowa, on the 8th of August, 1883,
Mr. Thayer was united in marriage to Miss Min-
nie Bell Young, of Ackley, that state, she being
a daughter of Joseph H. Young, who was a
valiant soldier in the Civil war, in which he
served as a member of Company H, One Hun-
dred and Eighty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer
Infantry, enlisting in 1863 and receiving an
honorable discharge at the close of the great
conflict which determined the integrity of the
Union. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer have three daugh-
ters : Neva P.ell, who was bom in Mason City,
Iowa, on the 1st of April, 1884; Vera Luella,
who was born in Canton, South Dakota, Jul\- 31.
1894, and Nila May, who was born in Canton.
Mav 26, 1897.
RICHARD G. PARROTT, postmaster of the
thriving town of Pollock, Campbell county, is a
native of the city of Chicago, where he was born
on the 22d of November, 1864, being a son of
John and Sarah P'arrott. He was reared to ma-
turity in the great western metropolis, receiving
his early educational training in the public schools
and learning the trade of moulder in his youth.
In 1883, at the age of nineteen years, Mr. Par-
rott. in company with his widowed mother, his
five brothers and two sisters, came to what is
now Campbell county. South Dakota, this being
nearly a decade before the admission of the state
to the Union, and after a few months he returned
to Chicago, where he remained until the spring
of the following year,_ when he came once more
to Campbell county, and shortly afterward entered
claim to a tract of government land near the pres-
ent village of Pollock. He began the improving
of this property and also conducted farming and
stock growing. When the line of the Sioux Rail-
road was built through Pollock, in the autumn of
1 901. he located in this village. In January of
the following year the postoffice was here estab-
ioo8
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
lished, replacing those at Flint and Lagrace, and
he was made postmaster in the new town. Alem-
bers of the family have served as postmaster in
each of the towns mentioned, as well as at Rusk,
and all have been discontinued since the establish-
ment of the office at Pollock, from which point
also is served the former postoffice of Vander-
bilt. His religious faith is that of the Presby-
terian church, of which his wife likewise is a
member, and fraternally he is affiliated with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, being a
member of the lodge at Herrick, South Dakota.
He still retains possession of his farm of three
hundred twenty acres, and he has contributed his
quota to the development and upbuilding of this
section of the state.
On the 23d of November, 1891, Mr. Parrott
was united in marriage to Miss Florence Benk-
art, who was born in Iowa, whence her father,
John C. Benkart, came to South Dakota in 1883,
becoming one of the pioneers of Campbell county,
but being now a resident of Carthage, Missouri.
Air. and Mrs. Parrott have three children. Bertha,
Robert and !\Iabcl.
JOHX C. STOUGHTON, the popular post-
master of the thriving little village of Geddes,
was born in Ionia county, Michigan, on the 13th
of July, 1844, and is a scion of a family which
has been identified with the history of the United
States from the time of the Revolutionary epoch.
His parents, Samuel E. and Emily H. fPark)
Stoughton, were both born in the state of New
York, and of their ten children only two survive,
the subject of this sketch and his brother, Charles
J., who is a resident of Howard City, Michigan.
The father of the subject was born on the 17th
of April. 1814. and his devoted wife was born
on the 20th of February, 1816, and both were
children at the time when their respective parents
removed from the old Empire state and became
pioneers of Michigan, settling in the vicinitv of
the present beautiful city of Detroit, and in that
state both were reared to maturity, their marriage
being solemnized May 21, 1835. After he had
attained manhood Samuel E. Stoughton pur-
chased a tract of government land in Ionia
county, Michigan, where he developed a farm
from the virgin forest, becoming one of the sub-
stantial citizens of that section and ever retaining
the high regard of all who knew him. On the
old homestead farm which he had reclaimed for
the wilderness he continued to reside until his
death, which occurred in 1872. while his wife
passed away in 1883. Mr. Stoughton identified
himself with the Republican party at the time of
its organization and ever afterward remained a
stanch advocate of its principles, and while he
was never ambitious for political preferment he
M-as called upon to serve in various offices of local
trust. His father, Dellucine Stoughton, was a
veteran of the war of 1812, and his grandchildren
recall that in his later years he found pleasure in
entertaining them by singing the old army songs.
He was a son of Amaziah Stoughton, who came
with his parents from England to the United
States about the time of the Revolution, the fam-
ily settling in the state of New York, with whose
annals the name has long been identified, and thus
the subject of this sketch is of the fifth generation
of the family in America.
John C. Stoughton, whose name initiates this
review, was reared to the discipline of the old
homestead farm in Ionia county, Michigan, and
after availing himself of the advantages of the
common schools he entered, in 1865, Kalamazoo
College, in Kalamazoo, that state, where he con-
tinued his studies for two years. His financial
resources then reached a low ebb, and he accord-
ingly left college and devoted the following year
to teaching in the schools of his native state. He
then removed to Kansas, where he continued his
pedagogic labors, in Atchison and Leavenworth
counties, for the ensuing four years. His father's
death occurred in 1872, as before noted, and he
was appointed administrator of the estate, return-
ing home to settle up the afl^airs of the same. He
was married the following year and decided to
remain in ?ilichigan, where for a number of years
he devoted his attention to teaching during the
winter terms, while farming constituted his vo-
cation during the remaining months of the year.
In 1883, in company with four others, Mr.
JOHN ('. STOI'GHTON.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Stoughton came on a prospecting trip to South
Dakota, with a view of selecting a permanent
place of residence. The party came by railroad
as far as Plankinton, where they pftrchased a
mule-team and wagon and set forth to look over
the country to the west of that point, and three
of the number, of whom our subject was one.
finally filed claims to a quarter section each of
land in Charles Mix_ county, Mr. Stoughton se-
curing an excellent claim seven miles northwest
of the present village of Geddes, whose site was
immarked by any habitation at that time. He set-
tled on his claim and in September of the fol-
lowing year his wife joined him in the new home.
He later purchased an adjoining quarter section,
and during the intervening years he has brought
his fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres
under most effective cultivation, has made excel-
lent improvements on the same and has been suc-
cessful in his efforts. In the spring of 1900 Mr.
Stoughton was appointed postmaster of the new
town of Geddes, to which he forthwith removed
with his family, taking charge of the office in
June of that year, and having since remained in-
cumbent. He is a stalwart advocate of the prin-
ciples of the Republican party and has taken a
lively interest in the promotion of its cause. In
the autumn of 1883 he was elected a member
of the board of county commissioners, in which
capacity he gave most efficient service, retaining
the office three years. It may be said that the
postoffice at Geddes was established in June,
igoo. in which month our subject assumed con-
trol, and further data in the connection will indi-
cate the rapid upbuilding and substantial increase
in population of the town. In April, 1902, only
one year and nine months after the establishing
of the oifice, it was placed on the list of presiden-
tial offices, the salary of the postmaster being at
the time raised to eleven hundred dollars a year,
while three months later it was raised to twelve
hundred, in accordance with the increase of busi-
ness, while in July of the present year (1903) a
further increase to fourteen hundred dollars was
made. ]\Tr. and Mrs. Stoughton are members of
the Congregational church, and he was one of
those prominently concerned in effecting the erec-
tion of the church of this denomination in the vil-
lage of Jasper, the property being later sold to
the Methodist Episcopal society, who now own
and occupy the edifice. Mr. Stoughton was initia-
ted in the Masonic fraternity in 1869 and has
been a charter member of two lodges in Charles
Mix county, this state, being now affiliated with
Geddes Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons.
On the 4th of March, 1873, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Stoughton to Miss Selena
V. Bovee, of Greenville, Michigan. Sh^ was born
in Lenawee county, Michigan, being a daughter
of M. and JuHa Bovee, and of her marriage has
been born one son, Elmer B., who was assistant
postmaster at Geddes. He was born in Green-
ville, Michigan, on the 14th of April, 1879, and
after attending the public schools entered Ward
Academy, in Charles Mix county, where he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1898, after
which he was for one term a student in Yank-
ton College, having later been engaged in teach-
ing for a short time. He has recently (1904)
resigned his position in the postoffice and has
removed to Lyman county, South Dakota, where
he has taken up a homestead, on'which he expects
to make his future home.
JOHN F. COMSTOCK. now holding the re-
sponsible position of government farmer on the
Chevenne Indian reservation, maintaining his
headquarters at Whitehorse Station, is a native
of the state of Wisconsin, having been born in
Columbia county, on the 13th of October, 1861.
and being a son of George W. and Teresa Com-
.'■tock, natives of the state of New York. When
the subject was about ten years of age. in 1871,
his parents removed to Benton county, Iowa,
where they remained until the spring of 18S5,
when thev came to South Dakota and took up
their abode near Highmore, Hyde county, where
the father has since been actively engaged in ag-
ricultural pursuits. All of the five children in
the family are living at the present time, the sub-
ject of this sketch having been the third in order
of birth.
J. F. Comstock secured his earlv educational
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
training in tlie public schools of Iowa, and ac-
companied his parents on their removal to South
Dakota, being independently engaged in farming
in H3-de county for a number of years. In 1892
he removed to Pierre and was there engaged in
teaming until 1894, when he was elected county
auditor of Stanley county, in which office he
served two years. In 1898 he was appointed to
his present position as government farmer on the
Qieyenne reservation. He is impressed with the
fact that the Indians will not attain any great
degree of success as farmers here, partially owing
to the condition of the reservation land, much of
which is not available for cultivation. The Indi-
ans have show-n a greater aptitude and predilec-
tion for stock raising and many of them have
been prospered in connection with this industry,
some of them having more than one hundred
head of cattle. In politics the subject is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican
party.
On the 6th of October. 1885. :\Ir. Comstock
was united in marriage to Aliss Laura ]\[oore,
daughter of David Moore, a well-known resi-
dent of Fort Pierre and the subject of an indi-
vidual sketch on another page of this work.
Mr. and l\Irs. Comstock have one child. George,
who was born on the 4th of August, 1886.
OSCAR SHERMAX GIFFORD, superin-
tendent of the Hiawatha Insane Asylum, at Can-
ton, South Dakota, was born October 20. 1842,
at Watertown, Xew "S'ork. While }-et young he
accompanied his parents upon their removal to
Rock county, Wisconsin, but subsequently lived
with his maternal grandfather. David Resseguie,
in the Adirondack mountains in New York. In
1853 he removed with his parents to Boone
county, Illinois, and in October. 1871, he settled
in Lincoln county, Dakota, where he has since
resided.
Mr. Gifford received a common school educa-
tion, which was supplemented by attendance at
the Beloit (Wisconsin) Academy. During the
war of the Rebellion the subject evinced his pa-
triotism liy c-nU-rinLr the service of his countrv.
serving one and a half years in the engineer corps
and one year in the Elgin Battery, Illinois Light
Artillery. After his discharge from military
service, Mr. Gifford entered upon the study of
law and in 1871 he was admitted to the bar. In
1874 he was elected county judge of Lincoln
county, but declined to serve, and in June of the
following year he formed a law partnership with
Mark W. Bailey, since which time he has con-
tinuously been actively engaged in the practice
of his profession.
Mr. Gififord has several times been engaged
in public service and has always acquitted him-
self creditably. He was a member of the consti-
tutional convention which convened at Sioux
Falls in September, 1883, and had been mayor of
the city of Canton during 1881 and 1882. In
November, 1884, he was elected a delegate to con-
gress from Dakota territory, being re-elected a
delegate in November, 1886, and in 1889 he was
elected a member of congress from South Dakota,
serving in the forty-ninth, fiftieth and fifty-first
congresses as a Republican. While a member of
that body "Sir. Gifford served as a member of the
committees on agriculture, Indian affairs and
public buildings, which committees had charge of
the more important matters in which the people
of Dakota were interested. It was largely
through the subject's eft'orts that the Crow, Sisse-
ton, Sioux and Wahpeton Indian reservations
were opened for settlement and Indian industrial
schools were estabHshed at Pierre and Flandreau
and a large number of day schools opened in the
Indian country. The question concerning the di-
vision of Dakota and the admission of North
Dakota and South Dakota as states was the most
important measure before congress while Mr.
Gifford was a member thereof and it was largely
through his efforts, aided by the sentiments of
his constituents, that Dakota was divided and two
states formed from the immense territory. The
measures known as the "omnibus bill," by which
North and South Dakota, Montana and \\'asliing-
ton became states, was approved by the President
and became a law February 22, 1889, and, as be-
fore stated, at the first election thereafter, in Octo-
ber, 1889, ]Mr. Gift'ord was elected a representa-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
live from this state. Mr. Gifford reported to the
house and had full charge of the measure for the
construction of a public building in Sioux Falls.
In November, 1901, Mr. Gifford received the ap-
pointment as superintendent of the Hiawatha
Asylum, at Canton, a United States Indian insane
asylum. He entered upon the discharge of his
duties with an intelligent appreciation of its re-
sponsibilities and has discharged the same to the
full satisfaction of every one.
In May. 1874, the subject was united in mar-
riage with Miss Phoebe M. Fuller. Fraternally,
'Sir. Gifford has long been actively and promi-
nently identified with the time-honored order of
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He was
initiated, passed and raised as a Alaster Mason
in 1877, and in 1879 he was elected worshipful
master of Silver Star Lodge at Canton. He was
elected grand treasurer of the grand lodge of
Dakota in 1881, was elected grand master of the
grand lodge in June. 1882, and was re-elected to
that position in June, 1883. In politics he has
always been an earnest and active Republican.
HOWARD G. FULLER, judge of supreme
court, born at Glenns Falls, New York. Educated
himself, studied law in a lawyer's office and for
several vears devoted himself to educational
work as teacher and county superintendent.
Came to Dakota in 1886 and elected judge of
sixth circuit in i88q. On supreme bench since
1894.
FRANK P. SMITH, M. D., one of the
prominent and honored members of the medical
profession in Canton. Lincoln county, was born
at Rouse Point, Clinton county. New York, on
the 2d of November. 1832, his father being a
fanner by vocation. The Doctor was thus reared
on the old homestead, and received his early edu-
cational discipline in the common schools of his
native countv. while later he prosecuted his
studies in the high school at Burlington. Ver-
mont, where he was graduated as a member of
the class of 1872. He then returned to his home
in New York and assisted in the work and man-
agement of the farm until he had attained the
age of twenty-four years, having in the mean-
while detemiined to prepare himself for the medi-
cal profession. For a time he was a student in
the Albany Medical College, in the capital city
of the Empire state, and then was matriculated
in the celebrated Bellevue Hospital Medical Col-
lege, in the city of New York, in which he was
graduated in 1877. receiving his coveted degree
of Doctor of Medicine and coming forth well
fortified for the practical work of his chosen vo-
cation. He at once entered upon the practice of
his profession in his old home town of Rouse
Point, where he remained two years, at the ex-
piration of which, in 1879, ^'"^ came to the ter-
ritory of Dakota and located in Canton, where
he has ever since been successfully engaged in
the practice of his profession, being one of the
leading physicians and surgeons of this section
of the state and being known to practically every
person in the county. He was the first super-
intendent of the board of health of the county,
retaining this incumbency many years, while he
also served long and faithfully as county physi-
cian and as local surgeon of the Chicago, Mil-
waukee. & St. Paid Railroad. For sixteen years
he was a member of the board of pension ex-
amining surgeons for Lincoln county, and has
been secretary of its board since 1886. He is a
Democrat in politics, and has ever shown a deep
interest in the industrial, civic and political prog-
ress of his adopted city, county and state.
On the 4th of October, 1893. Dr. Smith was
united iri marriage to ]\Iiss Helen ?\Iiller, who
was born in the state of Wisconsin, being a
daus-hter nf William H. Miller, Sr.
NEWMAN C. NASPI. well known as the
editor and publisher of the Sioux \'alley News.
at Canton, is a native of the old Empire state,
having been born in Orleans couqty. New York,
on the 15th of February. 1848, and being a son of
Francis and Catherine V. (Curtis) Nash. His
father was born in Genesee county. New Y'ork.
of English and Holland Dutch descent, and was
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
by vocation a farmer. The mother of our sub-
ject was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts,
and in the agnatic hne was of Holland Dutch
descent, while her mother was a representative
of families established in New England in the
colonial epoch of our national history. Francis
and Catherine V. Nash became the parents of
nine children, of whom the subject of this review
was the eldest son, while of the number seven
are living at the present time.
Newman C. Nash passed his early childhood
days on the homestead farm in Orleans county.
New York, and was seven years of age at the time
of his parents' removal to Rock county, Wiscon-
sin, where his father became a pioneer farmer,
and there the parents passed the remainder of
their lives, honored by all who knew them. The
subject was reared to the sturdy discipline of the
home farm, duly availing himself of the advan-
tages afforded by the common schools of the lo-
cality and period, and he was still a member of
the parental household at the time when the dark
cloud of civil war obscured the national horizon.
When but seventeen years of age he enlisted as a
private in Company A, Thirteenth Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in
active service for four years and three months,
participating in all of the many engagements in
which his command was involved, so tliat the
history of his regiment is practically the history
of his faithful and valiant career as a soldier of
the republic. He received his honorable dis-
charge on the 28th of December, 1865.
As soon as he was mustered out Mr. Nash re-
turned to Rock county, Wisconsin, and was there-
after engaged in agricultural pursuits near the
city of Janesville, that county, until 1871, when
he came as a pioneer to the territory of Dakota.
He arrived in Lincoln county in February of that
year and in Canton township took up a homestead
claim of one hundred and sixty acres, perfecting
his title in due course of time and forthwith in-
stituting the improvement and cultivation of his
land. He continued to reside on this ranch until
the autumn of 1876, when he removed to the city
of Canton, which was then a small frontier vil-
lage, and in January of the following vcar he
initiated his career in connection with the "art
preservative of all arts," by purchasing a half
interest in the plant and business of the Sioux
Valley News, of which he became the sole pro-
prietor in the following April. This was one of
the first papers published in the territory, and
he has presided over its destinies consecutively
from the time noted. The paper is a model in the
matter of letter press, discrimination is displayed
in the news columns and those devoted to mis-
cellaneous reading, while even a cursory glance
establishes the fact that the editorial department
is under the control of a man who keeps himself
well informed regarding matters of public mo-
ment and who writes forcibly and with directness
in expressing his opinions. The News has a cir-
culation of fourteen hundred copies and is a wel-
come visitor in the majority of the homes in this
section of the state. Mr. Nash is a valued and
influential member of the South Dakota Press As-
sociation, of which he was president for two
vears, and politically he is a stanch adherent of
the Republican party, whose principles he sup-
ports by his franchise and personal influence. He
is an appreciative and most popular member of
the Grand Amiy of the Republic, being affiliated
with General Lyon Post, No. 11, while from June,
1893, to June, 1894, he held the office of com-
mander of the order for the department of South
Dakota. He is also past grand master of the
grand lodge of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows in the state, and is affiliated with the
Masonic fraternity and the Modern Woodmen
of America. He and his wife are zealous mem-
bers of the Congregational church in their home
city, and he has served as a member of its board
of trustees for more than a decade and a half.
He was a member of the board of education for
.several years, and has also rendered effective
service in other local offices of public trust, in-
cluding that of postmaster, of which he was in-
cumbent from April, 1890, to June, 1894.
On the 26th of June. 1865, Mr. Nash was
united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Williston,
who was born and reared in Janesville, Wiscon-
sin, and of their five children we incorporate the
following brief record : Nina M. is the director
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1013
of the model school in the Aberdeen Normal ;
George W. is state superintendent of schools for
South Dakota; Clara W., a graduate of Yankton
College, is married ; Marion is deceased ; and
Francis F. is also a graduate of Yankton College,
and is junior member of the firm of N. C. Nash
& Son. publishers of the Sioux Valley News, of
Canton, and the Harrisburg News, of Harris-
burg.
FRFDFRIC T. CUTHBERT, of Canton,
tlie present incumbent of the office of county
judge of Lincoln county, was born in Whiting,
Alonona county, Iowa, on the 2d of April, 1876,
being a son of Rev. Thomas and Emily J. (Den-
ham) Cuthbert, the former being a clergyman of
the Methodist Episcopal church. While the sub-
ject was a mere child his parents removed to
^ilapleton, Iowa, where they resided a number
of years, thence removing to Rolfe, that state,
and there remaining about two years. When
Frederic was fifteen years of age he accom-
panied his parents to England, their native land,
and the family continued to abide in the "tight
little isle" about four years, during the major por-
tion of which time our subject continued his edu-
cational discipline in a private school. In 1883
the family home was established in Sioux Falls.
South Dakota, and the father soon afterward
located on a farm near this city, our subject at-
tending the public schools here until the re-
moval to England, as noted. The subject re-
turned to the United States in 1895 '"i"'' located
in Canton, South Dakota.
In 1895 Mr. Cuthbert took up the study of
law in the office of A. R. Brown, of Canton, and
he was admitted to the bar of the state on the
13th of May, 1897. Pie forthwith established
himself in practice in this place, entering into
partnership with M. E. Rudolph. A few months
later he formed a professional alliance with L. J.
Jones, with whom he was associated until May,
1901, in the meanwhile gaining a reputation as
an able advocate and counsellor. Upon the dis-
solution of this partnership Air. Cuthbert formed
a partnership with A. B. Carlson, under the firm
name of Cuthbert & Carlson, and this association
has since obtained, the firm controlling a repre-
sentative business.
Judge Cuthbert has always been a stanch ad-
vocate of the principles and policies of the Re
publican party, and he took a particularly active
part in the campaign of 1896, doing effective
work in the i^arty cause, as has he also done in
subsequent campaigns. In 1900 he delivered
more than twent}- speeches in advocacy of the
Republican principles, and he is known as one
of the most able young public speakers in the
state. In the spring of 1898 he was elected
justice of the peace in Canton, retaining this in-
cumbency one year, and in 1900 he was elected
city attorney, serving one term. In the autumn
of that year still more distinguished preferment
came to him in his election to the office of county
judge, in which judicial capacity his services met
with so marked popular approval that he was
chosen as his own successor in the election of
1902, being thus in tenure of the office at the time
of this writing. Fraternally. Judge Cuthbert is
identified with Silver Star Lodge, No. 4, Free
and Accepted Masons, Siroc Chapter, No. 4,
Royal Arch ^Masons, and with Canton Lodge,
No. 52, Knights of Pythias, all of Canton;
EDGAR DEAN, one of the best known citi-
zens of Lincoln count}'. South Dakota, was born
May 26, 185 1,. in Sullivan county. New York,
where he lived until he was eight years old, at
which time his ]iarents moved to L'lster county,
that state, where they remained until he was
about sixteen years old, when they again moved,
this time locating in Dekalb county, Illinois. Mr.
Dean attended the common schools of the neigh-
borhoods in which he resided, afterwards at-
tending the high school at Sycamore, Illinois.
In May, 1874, he came to Dakota territory, lo-
cating in Lincoln county, taking up as a home-
stead a quarter section of land in Norway town-
ship and also an eighty-acre tree claim. He re-
mained on this tract until 1887, improving it as
the years went by. until he became the possessor
of a model farm. In the fall of 1887 :\Ir. Dean
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
was elected treasurer of Lincoln county and in
consequence moved to Canton that he might give
his entire attention to the duties of the office. He
served in this office for four years, faithfully dis-
charging the duties of the same and winning for
himself the confidence and esteem of the people.
Prior to his service as county treasurer he
had served for four years as a member
of the board of county commissioners, and
also served on the Canton board of education for
four years, so that his experience in public af-
fairs was varied and of sufficient length to either
condemn or commend him to the public. That
the people viewed his record with favor is shown
by the fact that in 1891 he was chosen state sen-
ator from Lincoln county, and at the subsequent
session ably represented his constituents in the
legislature. He has given his best efforts to the
people and to the county which has honored him
with these respective positions of trust and honor
and has been active in all movements looking to
the advancement of his county and city. He now
owns a half section of land in Norway and Pleas-
ant townships, Lincoln county. In 1891 he en-
gaged in the lumber business at Canton, acting as
secretary and manager of the Farmers' Lumber
Companv, and is conducting this business at the
present time, the enterprise meeting with splendid
success.
In 1871 Mr. Dean was united in marriage
with Miss Lavina Parker, of Kingston, Illinois,
but who was born in Perry county. Indiana, and
to them have been born six children, namely:
Ralph, George, Effie, Edna, Ella and Edgar ?^I.,
all of whom are now living. Fraternalh-, ^Ir.
Dean is a member of the Masonic order and also
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
THOMAS THORSOX, one of the leading
citizens of Canton, Lincoln county, where he is
engaged in the real-estate business and where he
holds the office of president of the First National
Bank, was born in Norway, on the 14th of No-
vember, 1S48, and was there reared to the age
of six years, when, in 1854. he accomijaniel his
parents on their inimigralion to the I'nitcd
States, the family settling in northeastern Iowa,
where his father became numbered among the
pioneer farmers, taking up government land near
the town of McGregor. There our subject
availed himself of the advantages of the public
schools, continuing to assist his father in the
work and management of the home farm until
i86g, when he secured a position as clerk in a
hardware establishment in Sioux City, Iowa. In
1 87 1 he removed to Beloit, Lyon count}-, that
state, where he opened the first store in the
county, building up a successful general-merchan-
dise business and becoming one of the influential
citizens of that section. In the autimin of 1871
he was elected the first recorder of file county,
and in 1874 was elected county auditor. After
the expiration of his term in this office, in 1873,
he accepted a position as traveling representative
of the Siou.x City Journal, and continued in this
line of work for the ensuing six years, at the
expiration of which, in 1881, he located in Can-
ton, South Dakota, and here engaged in the real-
estate business, doing much to further the devel-
opment and settlement of this section and having
ever since continued to be here prominently iden-
tified with this important line of enterprise, in
which connection he has become the owner of
much valuable city realty and farming and graz-
ing land. He at once identified himself intimately
and helpfully with public affairs, and he served
two terms as mayor of Canton, while he was
elected to represent his county in the provisional
legislature of 1885. He has been at all times an
uncompromising advocate of the principles of the
Republican party and an active worker in its
cause, and in 1892 he was shown further distinc-
tion at the hands of his party and the voters of
the state in being chosen secretary of state, giv-
ing an able administration and being chosen as
his own successor in 1894, on which occasion he
received the largest plurality ever given to any
candidate on the state ticket — a significant evi-
dence of popular confidence and esteem. After
his retirement from office he again turned his
attention to his real-estate business, which he has
continued with marked success. He became one
of the stockholders of the First National Bank of
HISTORv' OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1015
Canton at the time of its organization, was a
member of its directorate for many years and in
Tanuary, 1903, was elected to the presidency of
the institution, which is one of the sohd and pros-
perous banks of the state.
On July 12, 1882, IMr. Thorson married Miss
Jessie Hunt, of Dodge county. ;\Iinnesota. Fra-
ternally, he is a Knight of Pythias and in the
Masonic order he has attained all the degrees of
tile York and Scottish rites, up to and including
the thirty-second, and is also affiliated with the
Mystic Shrine. His religious connection is with
the Lutheran church.
CHARLES L. BEE;\L\N is a native of
r.radford county, Pennsylvania, where his birth
took place on the nth day of January. 1832,
being the son of Joseph H. and TV-tsy ( Huck)
lleeman, both parents born and reared in the
Keystone state. The Beemans and Bucks were
pmong the early settlers of Bradford county and
both families appear to have been widely known
and liiglily esteemed. Joseph H. Beeman, the
subject's father, was a farmer and in connection
with agriculture worked for a number of years
at the carpenter's trade, having been an efficient
mechanic as well as an enterprising and prosper-
ous tiller of the soil. Of his eight children, three
survive, namely : Charles L., who is the second
in order of birth ; Julia, living in Iowa, and
Amos, who is still a resident of Bradford county.
The following are the names of those deceased ;
Denton, who was the oldest of the family. ?iIinor.
Eliza and Henry, the third, fourth and fifth, re-
spectively. Henr}' was a soldier in the Union
army during the late Civil war, rendered valu-
able service for his country and died a miserable
death in the ]irison pen at Andersonville.
Charles L. Beeman was reared on the home
farm in Pennsylvania and owing to unfavorable
circumstances was enabled to acquire only a lim-
ited education. Being the oldest of the living
children, nnich of the labor of the fann naturally
fell to him, but with true filial regard he cheer-
fulh' assumed the responsibilitv and discharged
his (hities faithfullv and well, remaining with his
parents and looking to their interests and the in-
terests of the rest of the family until long after
the age when the majority of young men are ac-
customed to begin life for themselves. In 1864
he left home and went to Jones county, Iowa,
where he purchased forty acres of land and en-
gaged in farming. He succeeded fairly well and
continued to live where he originally located until
1883, when he sold his place and came to Bon
Homme county, Dakota, purchasing a quarter
section of land in the township of Bon Homme,
which he soon reduced to cultivation and otlfer-
wise improved. Accustomed to hard work from
his youth and possessing a determined will, Mr.
Beeman made substantial progress as a farmer
and in the course of a few years was accounted
one of the most successful men of the community
in which he resided. In the year 1900 he bought
his present place and since that time has brought
it to a high state of tillage, besides making a
number of substantial improvements, including a
neat and comfortable dwelling, good barns and
other outbuildings, and he now owns one of the
most beautiful and desiraljlc homes in the town-
ship. ]\lr. Beeman has devoted his life to agri-
culture and is familiar with every phase of his
chosen calling. He employs modem methods in
the tilling of the soil, raises abundant crops of
grain, vegetables and other products peculiar to
.South Dakota, besides paying considerable at-
tention to live stock, in the breeding and raising
of which l;e has met with encouraging success.
Mr. Beeman is a man of domestic tastes, a great
lover of his home and has never had any desire
for public office, although a staunch Republican
in politics and an active supporter of his party.
In religion he is a Baptist, having united with
the church a number of years ago. and his life
ever since been in harmony with the principles
and teachings of the faith which he professes.
Mr. Beeman was married in his native county
and state, in 1852, to Miss Caroline E. Titus,
who was born and reared in the same neighbor-
hood in which he spent his youth and early man-
hood. They have three children, the oldest being
Rosie. wlio is now the wife of Alexander Kane,
a farmer, of Kno.x countv, Nebraska : Estella, the
ioi6
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
second daughter, married Homer Beeman, a
farmer and stock raiser of Bon Homme town-
ship, and the youngest of the family, a son by the
name of Frank, lives at home and helps his father
run the farm. Mrs. Beeman is also a Baptist in
her religious belief and a consistent and highly
esteemed member of the local church.
^IILTOX D. GARDNER, one of the lead-
ing farmers and stock raisers of Bon Homme
county, is a native of Oneida county, Xew York,
and dates his birth from April 30, 1837. His
grandfather, Benjamin Gardner, moved to that
county in an early day from Rhode Island and
\vas one of the leading citizens of the community
in which he spent the remainder of his life. He
was a farmer by occupation, took an active part
in the afifairs of Oneida county and died there
many years ago, leaving a family of six children,
viz: Daniel, Frederick, David, Mary, Harriet
and Narcissus, all deceased except Harriet, who
still lives in the state of New York.
Frederick Gardner, the second son, was born
September 23, 1811, married Sarah Wiggin,
\vhose birth occurred in the year 1816, and de-
parted this life in Oneida county, January 16,
1870. his wife dying seven years after that date.
Mr. Gardner followed tilling the soil for a live-
lihood and was a man of sterling worth. He was
a Democrat in politics, a Baptist in his religious
belief and as a neighbor and citizen bore an ex-
cellent reputation. Frederick and Sarah Gardner
reared a family of seven children, whose names
are as follows: Joanna, bom January 10, 1835,
married Alexander Bowers, and died in Du-
buque, Iowa, October 10, 1900; Milton D., the
subject of this review, is the second in order of
birth: Anna Eliza was born June 28, 1839: Har-
riet, wife of William Bowers, was born February
24, 1842, and died in 1898; George W,, whose
birth occurred on the 17th of September, 1846,
died in childhood: Henry J., born March 23.
1849, is living a retired life with the subject : A.
W. was born ^March 22, 1835, and makes his
home in Maquoketa, Iowa.
]\liltnn D. Gardner was educated in the pnl>lic
schools of his native county, grew to manhood on
the farm and remained with his parents until
twenty-seven years of age. In 1864 he severed
home ties and went to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
but after spending a short time at that place
changed his abode to Waseca, in the same state,
wh.ere he clerked for two years in a mercantile
house. Resigning his position at the end of that
time he became bookkeeper for a fimi in Dubuque,
Iowa, where he remained until 1873, the mean-
while becoming familiar with business and well
qualified to enter upon the duties of the active
career which awaited him in the west. In the
above year Mr. Gardner came to South Dakota
and with his brother engaged in the implement
business at Yankton, where the two conducted a
large establishment tmtil 1883, building up a
lucrative trade during that time and becoming
widely and favorably known in commercial cir-
cles. Disposing of his interest at the time noted,
the subject came to Bon Homme county and pur-
chased his present farm of one hundred and
sixty acres in the township of Bon Homme,
wdiich he at once began to improve and which he
has since converted into one of the best farms as
well as one of the most beautiful and attractive
country homes in this part of the state. Since
moving to this place he has devoted his atten-
tion to agriculture and stock raising and that his
success has been most flattering is attested by his
steady advancem.ent in material afifairs, being at
this time the owner of eleven hundred acres of
valuable land in Bon Homme county, four hun-
dred of which are in cultivation and otherwise
highly improved. He devotes especial attention
to com, millet, alfalfa and hay, which he raises in
abundance and feeds to his live stock. Mr. Gard-
ner has achieved enviable repute as a raiser of
fine blooded cattle and has on his farm at this
time thirty-five registered shorthorns, also a large
herd of other superior breeds, besides owning two
hundred Poland-Qiina hogs, and a number of
fine horses, for both draft and road purposes. He
exhibits his live stock and the products of his
farms have taken a number of premiums awarded
bv the state fairs, all of which he attends and in
the deliberations of which he takes an active in-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
terest and prominent part. In addition to his
o^eneral agricultural and large live-stock interests,
Mr. Gardner has a wide reputation as a grower
of fine varieties of corn. So great has been the
demand for this product of his farm that in the
\car 1903 he shipped more than a thousand
bushels to different parts of the state and yet was
unable to fill all orders that came to him. He has
given close and critical study to corn culture and
his efforts have resulted in the improvement of
standard varieties and the development of new
and highly productive kinds, for all of which he
receives fancy prices.
Fraternally, Mr. Gardner is a Mason, belong-
ing to the blue lodge at Tyndall and the chapter
at Scotland and he is also identified with the
P\-thian order, holding membership with the
lodge which meets at Springfield. While not a
politician in the strict sense of the word, he keeps
well informed on the leading public questions of
the day. and gives his support to the Democratic
party, though in local affairs frequently voting
for the best qualified candidate, regardless of
political ties.
Mr. Gardner, on May i, 1861, was united in
marriage with Miss Ophelia Brewer, of Oneida
county, New York, the union resulting in the
birth of three children, the oldest of whom, Asa,
was bom on May 8, 1866. This son is now a
prosperous stock dealer and lives at New Eng-
land, North Dakota, where he has a family of
five children, his wife having formerly been Miss
Emma Harrison, of Bon Homme county; Isa-
bella S., the second of the subject's children, was
born ^ I arch 12, 1868, and married Herbert Sil-
verwood, a farmer of Bon Homme county, this
state: the youngest of the family, a son by the
name of Clarence E., was born on May 24, 1879,
and is his father's able assistant on the farm.
SEYMOUR A. GUPTILL, one of the larg-
est land owners and successful farmers of Bon
Homme county, is the son of John B. and Emily
(Warren) Guptill, and was born in Winnebago
county, Illinois, on the 7th day of January, 1859.
His father, a native of Maine, came west in 1845
and settled in Illinois, where he purchased a farm
on which he made his home until 1886, when he
disposed of his interests in that state and moved
his family to Canton, South Dakota. Buying
land near the latter place, he improved a farm
and continued to cultivate the same as long as he
lived. He was a good man and an influential citi-
zen, took an active interest in public affairs and at
different times was honored with official posi-
tions, in all of which he discharged his duties
ably and acceptably. Mrs. Guptill, who was born
in New York, survives her husband and at the
present time lives in the state of Illinois. The
following are the names of the children born to
this couple : Charles, of Bon Homme county ;
Mrs. Lona Goldy, who lives in Illinois ; Seymour
A., of this review, and Lillie, who departed this
life at the age of eleven years.
Seymour A. Guptill received a limited edu-
cation in the public schools and remained with
his parents until his twenty-second year, the
meanwhile assisting with the labors of the farm.
In 1882 he came to South Dakota and settled in
Lincoln county, where he became one of the lead-
ing farmers. While there he accumulated con-
siderable property, both real- estate and personal,
but in 1 901 he sold out and came to Bon Homme
county, where he invested his means in land,
purchasing a fine farm of five hundred and
twenty acres, which he still owns and which un-
der his energetic labors and efffcient management
has become one of the finest and most productive
farms of the township in which it is situated.
Mr. Guptill has added greatly to his realty from
time to time until he now owns eleven hundred
and sixty acres, all valuable and the greater part
under cultivation and well improved. He farms
the home place and rents the rest of his land,
and as an agriculturist and stock raiser he ranks
with the leading men of his part of the state, who
are thus engaged. A Populist in sentiment and
a zealous supporter of the party of that name,
Mr. Guptill has kept aloof from partisan politics
and persistently refused to accept office or any
kind of public position. He has no ambition fur-
ther than to be a successful farmer and business
man and to dignify his standing as a citizen whose
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
interests are not wholly circumscribed within
narrow, selfish limits, but tend largely to pro-
mote the welfare of his fellow men.
In 1880 Mr. Guptill contracted a marriage
with Miss Nettie Hoyt, of Rock county, Wiscon-
sin, and he is now the head of an interesting
family of four children, viz: Clyde, Walter S.,
Lorna and Sidney, the youngest, a son by the
name of Rolland, being deceased.
AIARTIX J. LEWIS, born Orleans county,
New York, 1843. son of Governor Lewis, of Wis-
consin. Located at Vermillion 1869. Engaged
in banking with Messrs. Inman and Thompson :
prominent Baptist and leader in philanthropic en-
terprises. Died about 1893.
IRA J. SMITH, of Springfield, Bon Homme
county, is a native of Steuben county. New York,
where his birth occurred on April 25, 1846, and
is an honorable representative of one of the old-
est and best-known families of that part of the
Empire state. His father, Solomon C. Smith,
settled in the above county as early as 1830,
cleared and improved a good farm and afterward
moved onto a farm in Tioga county, Pennsyl-
vania, and lived on the same until his death, at
the age of seventy-nine years. He was of Ger-
man descent and when a young man married
Miss Lucretia Hurd, who departed this life when
fifty-seven years old, after bearing him nine chil-
dren, whose names are as follows: Joshua €.,
of Steuben county. New York: Rebecca lives in
Boston, IMassachusetts ; Freelove, of Fredonia,
New York; Daniel, who lives in Portland. Ore-
gon : Betsey, deceased ; Tra J., whose name intro-
duces this sketch; Mary J-, deceased; Adaline,
of Olean, New York, and Lovisa, whose home is
in the state of Washington.
Tra J. Smith was reared to agricultural pur-
suits, received a common-school education and
remained with his parents until twentv-thr'-e
years old. Leaving home, he came west in 1870.
arriving at Yankton, Dakota, on March 27th of
that year. After spending a short time at that
place the subject settled in Springfield, which
had but recently been laid out, and, taking up a
quarter section of land in the vicinity of the town,
turned his attention to agriculture. While prov-
ing up on his land he worked in different places
and after obtaining a patent from the govern-
ment, entered an adjoining quarter section, for
which he received a deed in due time.
Mr. Smith served four years as clerk in the
United States land office at Springfield, during
which time he lived in the town, but at the expi-
ration of his term he returned to his farm and
has continued its cultivation ever since. In addi-
tion to agriculture he is largely interested in live
stock, being one of the leading cattle raisers .in
Spring-field township, and he also devotes consid-
erable attention to horses and hogs, making the
fine breeds a specialty. Mr. Smith is one of the
substantial business men of his community and
as a farmer and stock raiser occupies a place in
the front rank of those who follow these voca-
tions. He is a self-made man and his success
since coming west has been almost phenomenal.
He reached South Dakota with sixty cents as the
sum total of his capital and at this time he owns
one of the most valuable farms in the county and
a fine moclern residence in Springfield, besides
the wealth represented by his live stock and other
personal property, all of which has been accumu-
lated by his own industry, thrift and efficient
management. He moved to his beautiful and
attractive home in the town in 1002, but still
gives attention to his farming and live-stock in-
terests. Mr. Smith is a potent factor in the af-
fairs of his township and county and one of the
leading Republicans in his part of the country.
He served three years on the board of county
commissioners and could have almost any local
office within the gift of the people, were it not
for the fact that he has always been averse to ac-
cepting public position. In religion he is a Con-
gregationalist ; he assisted to organize the church
at Springfield and has been one of its leading
members and most liberal supporters ever since,
being at tliis time a member of its board of trus-
tees.
The domestic life of Mr. Smith dates from
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1019
1873, in which year he contracted a matrimonial
alliance with Miss Hattie Bell, of Beloit. Wis-
consin, who has borne him five children, Maude
L. ; Ward E. died when two and a half years
old ; W. Berton, one of the promoters and own-
ers of the Springfield Telephone Company ;
Mabel C. and Rena A.
HEXRY E. PHELPS is a native of Ford
county, Illinois, and was born in August, 1863,
being the son of Jasper and Mary Ann (Davis)
Phelps, both of whom died in the year 1864, leav-
ing their son to be brought up in the family of a
friend by the name of John Wood. As this
gentleman and his good wife cared for their
young protege and sustained toward him almost
parental relations, it is proper in this connection
to present a brief outline of the benefactor to
whom the subject is so greatly indebted and
whose memory he so fondly cherishes. Mr.
W'cind was born in Dutchess county. New York,
M;i\- 6, 1824. and at the age of eighteen went to
Xorwalk, Ohio, between which place and Mt.
\'ernon he drove stage for a number of years. In
1846 he married Sarah J. Lyons, of Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, and in 1858 moved to
Huntington county, Indiana, locating at the town
of Andrews, where, in partnership with a Mr.
King, he operated a sawmill for a period of three
years, changing his residence at the expiration
of that time to Woodford county, Illinois. After
farming about two years in that part of the state,
Mr. Wood moved his family to Livingstone
county, thence, in 1872, came to Lincoln county.
South Dakota, and entered land in Dayton town-
ship, which he improved and on which he spent
the remainder of his days, dying on November
30, i803-
H. E. Phelps spent his early life in the home
of Mr. Wood and was reared to agricultural pur-
suits. He accompanied his foster parents to
South Dakota in 1872 and from that time until
1889 had charge of the Wood farm in Lincoln
county, but purchased forty acres of his own two
years previous to the latter date. On March 13.
1889. he was united in marriage with Miss Flor-
ence Lyon, of Andrews, Indiana, daughter of
John J. and Ruth (Ik-auchamp) Lyon, and im-
mediatelv thereafter set up a domestic establish-
ment of his own, purchasing an additional eighty
acres of land the same year, which he has since
improved and reduced to a successful state of
cultivation. Mr. Phelps has one of the finest
farms in Lincoln county, from which he derives
every year a handsome income. He devotes his
attention to general agriculture, raises abundant
crops of grain, especially corn, and feeds con-
siderable live stock, being among the most suc-
cessful raisers of hogs and horses in his neigh-
borhood. Since coming west he has applied him-
self closely to his chosen calling, with the result
that he is now in comfortable circumstances, with
ample competence against possible adversity, and
has long occupied a conspicuous place among the
representative citizens of the community in which
he resides.
In 1895 Mr. and Mrs. Phelps made a trip to
Indiana on account of the latter's health, and
from there went to Fitzgerald, Georgia, where he
operated a meat market for a short time with his
brother-in-law, H. L. Beauchamp. Later he,
with his wife, visited Tampa, Florida. He was
absent on this sojourn the greater part of two
years, returning home in 1897, since which time
he has carried on farming and stock raising, with
the success already indicated. In politics Mr.
PheliJS votes the Populist ticket and in religion
belongs, with his wife, to the Methodist Episco-
pal church, both being faithful and consistent
members and active workers in the local congre-
gation with which thev are identified. Mr. and
Mrs. Phelps have no children of their own, but
some years ago they opened their hearts and
home to an adopted daughter, upon whom they
have lavished the same love and affection as if
she had been their own flesh and blood.
GEORGE ATWOOD PETTIGREW, M.
D., was born in Ludlow, Vermont, April 6, 185S,
the son of Josiah Walker and Susan Ann ( At-
wood ) Pettigrew, natives of Ludlow and Lon-
donderry, Vermont, respectively. He was edu-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
cated at the Black River Academy, of Ludlow,
Vermont, the Colby Academy, of New London,
New Hampshire, and was graduated from the
medical department of Dartmouth College, at
Hanover, New Hampshire, with the class of
1882. He began the practice of his profession
at Flandreau, South Dakota, February 2, 1883,
and in June, 1884, entered into a professional
partnership with Dr. F. A. Spafford, which lasted
until February, 1891, when he retired from the
active practice and engaged in the real-estate, loan
and banking business. He was surgeon of the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad for
eight years ; government physician to the Indi-
ans for eight years ; surgeon of the Second Regi-
ment of Territorial Guards, and their successors,
from 1885 to 1893; surgeon-general of South
Dakota under Governor Sheldon, for two terms :
member of the board of United States pension
examiners from 1884 to 1901, with the exception
of one year ; surgeon of the First and Second
Regiments of South Dakota National Guard from
organization to their departure for the Philip-
pines.
yir. Pettigrew assisted in organizing the Flan-
dreau State Bank in May, 1891, and was its
president until July, 1903, when he resigned and
moved to Sioux Falls, September 3d, following.
He is president of the Union Savings Association
of Sioux Falls. He served as coroner of Moody
county for many years, and was the first to or-
ganize the real-estate move to advance the inter-
ests of Flandreau and Moody county. He lo-
cated hundreds of now prosperous farmers in this
countv and the price of farm lands has advanced
from eight dollars an acre in 1891 to fift\' and
sixty dollars an acre at the present time.
The subject is a Mason and has attained the
thirty-third degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite and the Royal Order of Scotland. He served
as grand secretary of the grand chapter of Royal
Arch Masons of the state since 1889 ; in 1895 was
elected grand secretary of the grand lodge of
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; in 1894
grand recorder of the grand commandery of
Knights Templar and in 1896 grand recorder of
the grand high priesthood, and now holds these
offices. He is a member of the chapter of the
Eastern Star and was grand patron for 1891,
1892 and 1893. He is a member of the Odd Fel-
lows, Modern Woodmen of America and the As-
sociation of Military Surgeons of America.
At Troy, New York, October 19, 1887, Dr.
Pettigrew was married to Eudora Zulette Stearns,
who was born at Felchville, Vermont, July 28,
1858. This union has been blessed by the birth
of one child, Adelie Stearns, born September 7,
1890.
THOMAS O. MITCHELL, of the well-
known firm of Mitchell & Thompson, dealers in
grain, flour, hay, live stock, etc., Whitewood,
South Dakota, was born in Adamsville, Ohio,
on the 15th day of December, 1852. He spent
his early years in his native state, enjoyed the
advantages of a common-school education and
until twenty-one years of age remained with .his
parents, assisting in the cultivation of the home
farm. On attaining his majority he went to ]\lc-
Lcan county, Illinois, where he followed agri-
cultural pursuits from 1873 to 1877, and in the
spring of the latter year went to Grand Island,
Nebraska, thence to Sidney, South Dakota, from
which place he afterwards came with a train
of freighters to the Black Hills. The summer
following his arrival Mr. Mitchell devoted to
prospecting on Battle and Rapid creeks, and in
the fall returned to Nebraska and accepted a
clerkship in his brother's general store at Alda,
continuing in the latter capacity until the Spring
of 1881, when he again came to Dakota and en-
gaged in business at Dead wood. He began his
career in that city, buying and shipping grain,
and in due time built up a profitable trade, but
in 1891 sold out there and established himself
in the grain and hay business at Whitewood,
which place has been the scene of his operations
ever since. In 1892 Mr. Mitchell associated
himself with T. W. Thompson, the firm thus
constituted erected the same year the elevator at
^^'hitewood, and from that time to the present
they have conducted a large and lucrative grain
business, also buy and ship live stock on a ver\-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
extensive scale, being one of the most success-
ful firms of the kind in the western part of the
state. In 1894 these gentlemen buih a gristmill
at Whitewood, which has since been operated in
connection with the grain and live-stock business,
the enterprise proving as remunerative as the
other interests, there being a constantly growing
demand for the high-grade flour made by the
firm. In addition to the lines of business re-
ferred to, Messrs. Mitchell and Thompson pay
considerable attention to the raising of blooded
cattle, principally Herefords, pasturing a large
number of these and other fine animals on their
extensive ranch lands in the vicinity of White-
wood and elsewhere in Lawrence county.
^Ir. INIitchell is decidedly a self-made man
and his present high standing in commercial and
industrial circles has been reached without aid
from the outside sources or the prestige of in-
fluential friends. His business qualifications are
of a superior order, his integrity and honor have
always been unquestioned and his fair dealings
and upright conduct have borne legitimate fruit-
age in the success which has made his name
popular among the representative men of the city
and county honored by his citizenship. Mr.
Mitchell is a Democrat in politics and one of
the active and influential party workers in his
part of the country, having served as chaimian
of the town board for a number of years, be-
sides filling other positions of honor and trust.
Mr. Mitchell was married on March 6. 1894,
to Miss Angle Robinson, a native of Iowa, but
who was brought to South Dakota when a child,
and has spent nearly all of her life in this state ;
two children have resulted from this union, a
son, Oron, and a daughter bv the name of Alice.
WILLIAM HOLLEMAN, one of the en-
terprising citizens of Bon Homme county, was
born in Holland on May 12, 1832, being the son
of Peter and Gertrude (Donkersloot) Holleman,
both parents natives of the Netherlands. Peter
Holleman and family came to America in 1855
and settled in Ottawa county, ^Michigan, where
he purchased land and cleared a farm, upon
which he and his good wife spent the remainder
of their lives. Mr. Holleman was twice married,
the subject of this review being the only child of
the first union. His second wife, whose maiden
name was Mary Pruisen, bore him four children,
namely : Johanna, Leentje, Anna and Arie. all
of whom live in Ottawa county, Michigan, where
the family originally settled.
William Holleman was reared and educated
in the land of his birth and at the age of twenty-
three accompanied his parents to America, locat-
ing with them in the state of Michigan. He be-
gan farming for himself in Ottawa county and
in due time became the possessor of one hundred
and ninety acres of land, which he improved and
on which he lived and prospered until the year
1885, when he sold out and moved to Bon
Homme county. South Dakota. On coming
west, Mr. Holleman purchased three hundred and
twenty acres of land, which he has since con-
verted into one of the finest farms in tliat part
of the county, and he has also added to his
realty from time to time until he now owns,
with his sons, one thousand four hundred acres,
five hundred and seventy of which are under
cultivation and otherwise well improved.
As a farmer Mr. Holleman stands in the
front rank, as prosperity has continuously at-
tended him, and he is today one of the leading
agriculturists in his part of the state. In ad-
dition to the large crops of corn, wheat, oats and
hay which his place produces, he is quite ex-
tensively interested in live stock, devoting his
attention to fine shorthorn and Durham cattle,
Poland-China hogs and several breeds of horses,
in the raising of which he has achieved a repu-
tation much more than local. He is a great ad-
mirer of his adopted country and its free in-
stitutions, manifests a lively interest in national
and state questions as well as local affairs and
in politics votes the Republican ticket. In mat-
ters religious he has strong faith and well-defined
opinions, being a worthy and consistent member
of the Dutch Reformed church, in the faith of
which he was bom and reared and with which the
majority of his familv are also identified.
i\Ir. Holleman was married November 22,
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1859, to Miss Clara Ulburg, a native of Holland,
who bore him thirteen children and departed
this life on April 21, 1902. Mrs. Holleman was
a zealous member of the church to which her
husband belongs, and a lady of beautiful Chris-
tian character and of many excellent qualities.
She reared her children to industrious habits,
early instilled into their minds and hearts a
love of truth and rio;ht and by example as well as
precept, taught them to live lives of usefulness
and honor. The following are the names of the
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Holleman : Peter,
a graduate of a literary institution in Holland
and of the University of Michigan, now a physi-
cian, practicing his profession at Roseland, Iowa ;
John, a prosperous farmer and stock raiser of
Bon Homme count\' ; Garrett, who is engaged
in agricultural pursuits near Jamestown, Michi-
gan : Edward, of Bon Homme county and a
farmer by occupation, as is also Leonard, the
fifth in order of birth ; James, Timothy, Henn,',
David, William, Clarence, Ida and Gertrude are
still with their father on the homestead.
HEXRY T. COOPER, cashier of the White-
wood Bank, and ex-treasurer of Lawrence
countv, also state senator for two consecutive
terms, is a native of ^^'arwickshire, England,
where his birth occurred on the 22d day of June,
1850. He grew to manhood's estate and received
his education in the country of his birth and
after reaching his majority accepted the position
of traveling salesman with a wholesale firm which
he represented in various parts of England until
1879. Severing his connections with his house
that year, he came to the Lhiited States and, pro-
ceeding direct to St. Paul, Minnesota, entered
the employ of the Northwestern Transportation
Company, which at that time was operating lines
of stage coaches through various western states
and territories. Shortly after engaging with this
company, Mr. Cooper was placed in charge of
the business at Bismarck, South Dakota, thence,
in 1880, was transferred to Pierre, where he
looked after the company's interests during the
five years following. In 1885 he took charge of
the ofifice at Chadron, but when the railroad was
finished to that town the transportation company
moved its office to Rapid City, thence a little later
to Sturgis, and finally, in the fall of 1887, to
Whitewood, which place sprang into existence
that year. Mr. Cooper continued with the com-
pany at the latter place until 1890, when its busi-
ness was wound up by reason of the completion
of the railroad to Deadwood. For some time
thereafter he was engaged in various enterprises,
among which was the running of transportation
lines to a number of smaller towns beyond the
reach of railway facilities, and later he con-
structed the water-works system at Whitewood,
which for several months was operated under his
personal management. In 1894 Mr. Cooper was
elected treasurer of Lawrence county, and served
as such for a period of two years, discharging
his official functions in an able and satisfactory
manner and proving not only a capable but a
very obliging and popular public servant. He
early manifested a strong predilection for politics
and, espousing the principles of the Republican
party, in due time became one of its ardent ad-
vocates and active workers in the Black Hills
country. As a further recognition of his valu-
able services he was honored in 1898 by being
elected a member of the state senate, in which
capacity he served his district two terms, having
been re-elected in the year 1900.
Mr. Cooper, in 1898, became associated with
the Whitewood Banking Company, and since
that date he has been cashier of the bank, also one
of its largest stockholders. He is a skillful ac-
countant, capable and painstaking in the dis-
charge of the duties of his position and has made
a special study of financial questions, on all of
which he is not only well informed, but is con-
sidered an authority. In addition to banking,
he has large mining interests in different parts
of the country, and as an all-round, wide-awake,
enterprising business man, he occupies a promi-
nent place among the leading men of the Black
Hills. He still owns the water works at White-
wood and, with his other sources of income, has
become quite well to do, being at this time classed
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1023
with the financially solid and responsible men of
his part of the stale.
Mr. Cooper is a married man and the father
of two children, Henry and Albert; his wife,
formerly Miss Kate Grimshaw. is a native of
Minnesota and her name was changed to the
one she now bears on April 11, 1888.
RICHARD BLACKSTONE, one of the
representative citizens of the Black Hills district,
maintaining his home in Lead, Lawrence county,
was born on a farm near Connellsville, Fayette
county, Pennsylvania, and is a scion of one of
the old and honored families of the Keystone
state. The date of his birth was October 16,
1843, and he is a son of James and Nancy C.
(Johnston) Blackstone, both of whom were like-
wise natives of that county. The parents of the
subject passed their entire lives in the vicinity of
Connellsville, where the father followed the vo-
cation of farming, being a successful and in-
fluential citizen and one who commanded un-
equivocal* confidence and esteem. ( )f his four-
teen children, eight are yet living.
Richard Blackstone was reared on the home
farm and secured his early education in the
schools of Connellsville and in a private school.
On the 20th of July, 1861, when somewhat less
than eighteen years of age, he enlisted in Com-
pany C, Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
commanded by Colonel Thomas B. Ford, who
had served as governor of the Buckeye state. He
enlisted at ]\Iansfield, Ohio, and thence accom-
panied his command to West Virginia, where
they passed the winter. In the spring they ad-
vanced to the east toward Staunton, Virginia,
under General Milroy, and took part in the bat-
tle of Bull Mountain, after which they marched
by way of Franklin over into the Shenandoah
valley, where they joined General Fremont's
forces and followed Stonewall Jackson on his
retreat up the valley to Harrison. They then re-
turned to Winchester and fortified the city, and
when Lee crossed into ^laryland they abandoned
Winchester and retreated to Harper's Ferry, tak-
ing part in the battle of Marylantl Heights, where
they were taken prisoners and paroled. During
the battle of Antietam they could hear the firing
but were not able to take part, as they were held
in captivity at the time. The regiment was moved
on to Baltimore and thence to Camp Douglas, in
Oiicago, and in the fall were sent to Columbus,
Ohio, where their exchange was effected. In
the spring of 1863 the regiment was again made
ready for duty and proceeded via Mississippi to
Memphis, where it became a part of the Army
of the Tennessee, under General Grant, being
assigned to the Third Division of the Seventeenth
Army Corps. After lying in camp at Milliken's
Bend for a time the command crossed the Mis-
sissippi river, below Vicksburg, and started on
the march to the rear of Vicksburg, engaging in
battle with Raymond's forces on the 8th of May,
and then proceeding as far as Jackson, Mis-
sissippi, from which point they returned toward
Vicksburg, participating in the battle of Cham-
pion Hills, on the i6th of May. In the charge
they captured two entire regiments, from Ala-
bama. Then advancing upon A'icksburg they be-
sieged that city until the 4th of July, under Gen-
eral Logan, and after the capitulation of the city
the regiment was engaged in provost duty during
the summer, and in the fall Mr. Blackstone was
made first sergeant of his company. At that time
he re-enlisted, although his temi would not have
expired until nearly a year later. He received a
thirty days' veteran furlough and passed the same
at his old home, after which he returned to Vicks-
burg and was detailed on recruiting service. The
regiment in the meanwhile came northward, and
he rejoined the command at Cairo, Illinois, from
which they proceeded up the Tennessee river to
Athens, Georgia, our subject being about this
time commissioned second lieutenant. They
marched onward and joined Sherman's army
at Big Shanty, Georgia, where they began their
services in connection with the Atlanta cam-
paign, advancing against General Johnston, who
made a somewhat stubborn stand at Kenesaw
Mountain, while they had numerous skirmishes
enroute, reaching Atlanta in July, and being in
the thickest of the fray on the 22d of that
month, when General [McPherson was killed.
1024
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Sherman continued his march and the Thirty-
second Ohio was present at the battle of Jones-
borough, but did not take part in the same. Re-
turning to Atlanta, they there encamped until
late in September, when General Hood started
for the north. The federal troops were put on
cars and went as far as Dalton, the intention
being to head off Hood. Sherman then began
the destruction of the railroad and shortly after-
ward our subject's regiment arrived at Atlanta
and joined in the memorable march to the sea,
thence proceeding northward through the
Carolinas and being present at the surrender of
Johnston, after which they marched to Washing-
ton, where, as a part of Sherman's army, they
participated in the grand review. From the
national capital the regiment was sent to Louis-
ville, Kentucky, where they were assigned to
provost duty, Mr. Blackstone there receiving his
honorable discharge in July, 1865, as captain of
his company, while on the 27th of the same
month' he was mustered qut of the service.
After the close of his long and arduous mili-
tary service Captain Blackstone retuhied to his
home, in Pennsylvania, and for a number of
months was a student in the Pennsylvania Mili-
tary Academy, at Chester, after which he took a
two-years course in the Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute at Troy, New York, where he gave his
attention to the study of engineering. In 1868
he came west to Colorado, making the trip from
Oieyenne to Denver by stage, and he engaged in
placer mining on the site of the present town of
Breckenridge, also prospecting in other localities.
In 1870 he returned to Denver, where he se-
cured a position in the office of the United States
surveyor general, as draughtsman. One year
later he removed to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where
he was employed in the office of the surveyor
general until 1878, in March of which year he
started for the Black Hills, arriving in Deadwood
on the last day of tlie month. He came here in
the interest of Cheyenne men who had some
mining properties on Whitewod creek, and he
acted as superintendent about two months, when
he found that the venture was not a profitable
one, and he accordingly engaged in the work of
his profession as an engineer, to which he de-
voted his attention for the ensuing two years. In
1 88 1 he entered the employ of the Homestake
Mining Company as engineer, and began the con-
struction of the Black Hills & Fort Pierre Rail-
road, continuing to make extensions to the same
at intervals until 1890, when the line was com-
pleted to Piedmont. In connection with his
other official duties he was superintendent of this
railroad until it was sold to the Giicago, Bur-
lington & Ouincy Railroad Company, in 1901.
He has been chief engineer for the Homestake
Company from the start, and has maintained his
home in Central City since 1888. April i, 1903,
he was made assistant superintendent of the
company. He also served as assistant superin-
tendent of the Father DeSmet, Deadwood. Terra
and Caledonia mines, owned by the Homestake
Company. In politics the Captain is a stanch
adherent of the Republican party, and fraternally
he is affiliated with the Ohio Commandei^.' of the
Loyal Legion and with E. M. Stanton Post, No.
8, Grand Army of the Republic, at Lead.
On the 28th of December, 1871, was solem-
nized the marriage of Captain Blackstone to
Miss ]\Iabel R. Noble, who was born and reared
in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, being a daughter of
William and Louisa (Findley) Noble. Of this
union have been born three children, namely :
Alexander J., who is in the emplo}' of the Home-
stake Mining Company ; Mary L., who is the wife
of D. C. Regan, of Lead ; and Florence, who re-
mains at the parental home. The family at-
tend the Episcopal church.
JA:MES HARTGERIXG. of Rapid City, a
miningrand mechanical engineer, with offices also
at Deadwood, was born on September 22, 1853,
in Ottawa county, Michigan, and is the son of
Alexander and Josephine Hartgering, natives of
Ohio. The father was a man of intellectual pur-
suits and engaged in teaching school during the
greater part of his mature life. When a young
man he served in the Mexican war, and after the
close of that memorable contest followed farm-
ing for a time in Michigan, where he died. The
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
son, James, was reared and educated in his na-
tive county, and in tlie spring of 1877 came to
the Black Hills, arriving in this new Eldorado
on the first day of April, and at once went to
prospecting and mining, following these alluring
hut often disappointing occupations for a number
of vears in various places throughout the Hills
country. He also learned his trade as a mill-
wright and worked at that considerably. In 1885
he pursued a speciat course of study in the State
School of Mines at Rapid City, the school having
then been recently organized. After the com-
pletion of his course there he entered on the prac-
tice of his profession as a mining and mechanical
engineer, and to this he has steadfastly adhered
over since. His home has been at Rapid City
from i8gi, with offices at Deadwood also. His
professional work has had a wide scope and is of
considerable magnitude, he being generally rec-
ognized as one of its leading practitioners in this
part of the country. He has been prominent in
designing and building mills and cyanide plants
on contract. The growth and development of the
section has enlisted his warmest and most in-
telligent interest, and to this he has devoted the
greater part of his time and energy. In addi-
tion he has taken an active part in public afifairs,
although not an earnest partisan in political work.
From 1886 he served as United States deputy
surveyor and as United States deputy mineral
surveyor, and was countv surveyor of Custer
county for one term. In fraternal relations he is
connected with the Masonic order, and has
climbed the mystic stairway to the thirty-second
degree of the Scottish Rite, being also a noble of
the ]\Tystic Shrine, belonging to the blue lodge at
Rapid City and the other bodies of the order at
Deadwood. He also belongs to the camp of the
Modern Woodmen of .Ajnerica at Rapid City,
and is a valued member of the Society for the
Advancement of Science, whose headquarters are
at Washington, D. C.
On March 21, 1883, ^^ Chicago, Illinois, the
subject was married to Miss Jennie M. McRae,
a native of Ontario. They have five children,
Constance M., James F., Genevieve. John M. and
Francis B.
THOMAS GREGORY, who is incumbent
of the responsible position of state mining in-
spector, is a native of Devonshire, England,
where he was born on the 24th of July, 1862,
being a son of John and Jane Ann (Sergeant)
Gregory, the former of whom was born in
Devonshire and the latter in Cornwall, while
the paternal grandfather of the subject, William
Gregory, was likewise a native of Devonshire,
where the family has resided for many gener-
ations, the name being closely identified with the
mining industry in that section of the "right little,
tight little isle." The father of the subject was
in his younger days engaged in farming, but later
became concerned in mining, being in the em-
ploy of the Devongrate Consols Mining Com-
pany, a large and important concern, engaged in
the mining of copper, and with the same he con-
tinued until his death, by accident in the mine, in
1888, while his devoted wife passed away in 1870.
They became the parents of eight children, of
whom five are living at the present time.
Thomas Gregory passed his boyhood days in
his native county, where he secured his educa-
tion in the coinmon schools, and while a boy he
entered the copper mines, in which he advanced
through various grades of promotion until he
held responsible positions. He was employed
in the mines of Devonshire and Cornwall for
varying intervals until March, 1884, when he
came to America. He first went to California,
and after passing about fifteen months in gold
mining at Plymouth, Amador county, he came
thence to the Black Hills. Here he entered the
employ of the Deadwood Terra Mining Com-
pany, at Terraville, whose properties were later
purchased by the Flomestake Mining Company,
which still controls the same. He was thus en-
gaged until 1893, having in the meanwhile been
successful in various contracting enterprises
which he undertook in an incidental way. In
the year mentioned the mine was closed down
and Mr. Gregory then made a visit to his old
home in Devonshire, England, where he remained
eight months, after which he returned to the
Black Hills and again entered the employ of the
Deadwood Terra Alining Company, and about
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
four months later entered the employ of the
Homestake Mining Company, in whose service
he continued, a valued and trusted employe, until
April I, 1901, when he was appointed state min-
ing inspector, with headquarters at Lead. He
gave most able and satisfactory service and was
appointed as his own successor on the ist of
April, 1903, being the first incumbent of the
office to thus receive appointment for a second
term in this state, — a fact which is duly
significant without further testimony or endorse-
ment. In politics Mr. Gregory gives his al-
legiance to the Republican party, and fraternally
he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Shortly after his arrival in the Hills Mr. Gre-
gory organized a cornet band at Terraville, and
the headquarters of the same were transferred to
Lead at the time of his removal to this point.
He has been the leader and instructor of the
band from the start and it has now attained a
high degree of proficiency, having about twenty
pieces represented in its instrumentation, while
it has the distinction of being the official band of
the Second Regiment of the Uniformed Rank of
the Knights of Pythias, in which connection its
seryices have been in requisition in the most
diverse sections of the state.
Mr. Gregory has been twice married, first in
1884. A son, John, was born of this union, who
at present resides in Plymouth, England, and is
apprenticed to the brass fitter's trade. The sec-
ond marriage of Mr. Gregory occurred in 1900.
THO^IAS E. HART, one of the highly
esteemed citizens of Central City, Lawrence
county, is a native of the province of Quebec,
Canada, where he was born on the 4th of June,
1843, being a son of William and Elizabeth
(Brown) Hart, who were likewise born in the
province of Quebec. The paternal grandfather
of the subject was Thomas Hart, who was born
in County Sligo, Ireland, and who. was a captain
ill the British army, in which connection he was
sent to the dnniinion of Canada with his regi-
ment, which was stationed in the city of Quebec.
After retiring from the military service he pur-
chased a farm fifteen miles out from the city, and
there passed the remainder of his long and use-
ful life, having served for more than twenty
years in the English army and having partici-
pated in a number of wars in which his country
was involved. The father of our subject con-
tinued to reside in his native province until 1859,
when he removed with his family to Cleveland,
Ohio, where he engaged in the fur business, and
there he and his devoted wife passed the
residue of their lives, honored by all who knew
them. They had four sons and three daughters,
of whom three of the former and all of the latter
are living at the time of this writing.
Thomas B. Hart, the immediate subject of
this review,* secured his educational discipline in
the excellent schools of his home province, and
was about sixteen years of age at the time of
the family removal to Ohio. There he secured a
position in car shops in the city of Cleveland,
where he developed much mechanical skill, and
thereafter he assisted in the putting in of trestle
work for the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad,
while later he entered the employ of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company, with which great cor-
poration he continued until iS/'i, in }vlarch of
which year he set forth to seek his fortunes in
the Black Hills. From Cheyenne, Wyoming, he
came by team to his destination, in company with
others, arriving in Deadwood on the 22d of May.
They encountered no trouble with the Indians,
though two days previously to their crossing Hat
creek two men had been killed by the savages at
that point. Mr. Hart at once turned his attention
tr prospecting in the vicinity of Deadwood, but
his success was of a negative character and after
three months he entered the employ of the owners
of the Keach mine, at Central Citw A few
months later he went to work on the Father De-
Sniet property, and there continued imtil the
mine was sold to a California company, in Decem-
ber, 1877, when he secured service with the
new owners and remained with them until 1881,
when the Homestake Mining Company pur-
chased the property, which tlic\' still own and
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
continue to develop. With this weU-known com-
pany Mr. Hart was employed until May lo,
1886. when he engaged in contracting at the car-
bonate camps, being fairly successful. A few
months later he again turned his attention to
prosjiecting. in company with Eli T. Forrester.
They relocated the Bingham mine, one mile west
of Central City, and forthwith instituted the work
of development, running tunnels and openings up
the ledge, which is now one hundred and eighty-
four feet in width. They sunk a shaft to the depth
of one hundred feet and placed the property in
good working condition. In 1 901 they sold the
property to the firm of Mayhem & Stevenson, and
it is now known as the Hidden Fortune. In com-
pany with Florence McCarthy, in the Golden
Rule properties, in Rudebaker Gulch, one mile
directly west of the town of Lead, Mr. Hart ran
three tunnels, one of sixty-five feet, another of
one hundred and twenty feet and the third of
seventy-five feet, after which they made a cross-
cut of the lead. In iqoi thev sold this property
to the Pennsylvania Mining Company and the
pro]ierty is now being worked by that company.
In the handling of these properties Mr. Hart has
been very successful and he is known as one of
the reliable and progressive mining men of the
section and as one of the representative citizens
of Central City, where he owns an attractive
residence. In politics he is arrayed with the
Democratic party.
On the 14th of January, 1867, Mr. Hart was
married to ]\Iiss Margaret jMulreedy, who was
born in Ireland, whence she accompanied her
parents on their emigration to America when a
child, the family locating in Mansfield, Ohio,
where she was reared and educated. Of this
union have been born five children, concerning
whom we incorporate the following brief record :
James, who married Miss Earl Brown, is a
resident of Butte, Montana ; Thomas is in the
employ of the Homestake Mining Company, and
resides in Lead City ; John, who married Miss
Louise Lj'ons, is a resident of the city of Port-
land, Oregon ; William is in Nome, Alaska : and
Eugene is a student in the Gertrude House in
the city of Chicago.
M.\TT PLl'NKETT, who has been
identified with the mining industry in the Black
Hills for more than a quarter of a century, and
now maintains his home in Central City,' Law-
rence county, was born in the parish of St. Syl-
vester, province of Quebec, Canada, twenty-
eight miles southeast of the city of Quebec, on
the nth of November, 1850, and comes of stanch
old Irish stock. His parents, James and Mary
( McKelvie ) Plunkett. were born and reared in
the north of Ireland, while their marriage was
solemnized in Canada. .\s a comparatively
young man James Plunkett came with his
widowed mother to America and settled in the
parish of St. Sylvester, where he engaged in
farming until about 1865, when he disposed of
his interests there and removed to the city of
Alpena, Michigan, on the shore of Lake Huron,
where both he and his wife passed the remainder
of their lives. He was well advanced in years at
the time of this removal and lived practically re-
tired thereafter until his life's labors were
ended. He and his wife were members of the
Catholic church and were folk of sterling char-
acter. Of their nine children eight are living
at the time of this writing.
?ilatt Plunkett passed his school days in his
native parish and after the removal of the family
to Michigan he identified himself with the great
lumbering industry in that state, while later he
was similarly employed in W'isconsin. In 1877
he came to the Black Hills, by the way of Bis-
marck, having no trouble with the Indians while
enroute, and he arrived and settled in Golden
Gate, adjoining Central City, in December. He
devoted the first year to prospecting, and has lo-
cated a number of valuable properties, some of
which are now yielding large returns. At the
head of Nevada Gulch, in July, 1878, in partner-
ship with John McVain and Dave Arno, he
located the .Signet and Black Moon lodes, which
they to a certain extent developed. Our sub-
ject retained an interest in this property until
1902, when it was sold to the Horseshoe ]\Iining
Company, the lodes being a low-grade ore and
well ada]rted to reclamation by the cyanide pro-
cess. In 1896 Mr. Plunkett and his partner.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Charles F. Abbott, located the Metallic Streak
( I to 6, inclusive), on which they did consider-
able development, having some of the ore treated,
and in- 1890 they sold the property to the Spear-
fish Mining & Milling Company, who are now
working the same very successfully. Mr.
riunkett has at the j)rescnt time a number of
interests in patented and unpatented mining
lands, and some of these properties are promis-
ing prospects. In 1896 Mr. Plunkett was elected
sherifif of Lawrence county, on the Fusion ticket,
and was re-elected in 1898. He had all the stir-
ring experiences which usually come to a sheriff
in a mining district, but his administration was
characterized by directness of action, alertness
nnd vigilance and by great personal courage and
self-reliance, so that he gained a high reputation
as a capable and discriminating officer. He now
devotes his attention principally to mining. In
politics he is a Bryan Democrat and he has been
a member of the Miners' Union of Central City
since 1878, and has held an office in the same at
various times.
At Central City, on the ist of August, 1882,
Mr. Plunkett was united in marriage to Miss
^Margaret Cunningham, who was born in County
Sligo, Ireland, whence she came with relatives
to America in 1880, while she came to the Black
Hills with her sister, Mrs. Herman Carroll. Of
this union have been born five children, namely :
James Joseph, who remains at the parental home
and who is working in the DeSmet Mill ; Mary
Ellen, who is attending the public schools ;
]\Iatthew J., who is attending school; William,
who died at the age of one month, and ]\Iargaret
Pearl, a winsome little lass of nine vears (1904).
EDWARD HEMMINGER, one of the rep-
resentative citizens of Oiarles Mix county, con-
ducting a successful mercantile business in the
village of Jasper, was born in Somerset county,
Pennsylvania, on the 9th of November, 1855,
Lieing a son of Jonas and Susan (Shawley) Hem-
minger, of whose thirteen children ten are living
at the present time, the parents having likewise
lieen natives of the old Keystone state, where
they passed their entire lives, the father having
been a farmer by vocation and a man of
prominence and sterling character.
The subject of this sketch received his edu-
cational training in the public schools, continu-
ing his studies until he had attained the age of
eighteen years and in the meanwhile assisting in
the work of the home farm. After leaving school
he came west to Iowa, where he was for a time
employed as a farm hand, eventually becoming
the owner of a farm in Crawford county, that
state, where he was quite successful in his opera-
tions. He remained in Iowa about eleven years,
I at the expiration of which, in 1883, he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota and took
[ up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty
j acres, in Giarles Mix county, where he also se-
j cured three hundred and twenty acres by pre-
emption, the land being located near the present
village of Jasper. He continued to be actively
engaged in farming and stock growing until
1899, when he took up his residence in Jasper and
here established himself in the general merchan-
dise business, in which he has since successfully
continued, being known as an enterprising and
reliable business man and gaining a represent-
ative patronage. He was appointed postmaster
at Jasper and has remained consecutively in
tenure of this position, the office being located in
his well-equipped store.
In politics he gives a stanch support to the
Republican party and is one of its wheelhorses in
his community, while both he and his wife are
members of the jMethodist Episcopal church. He
has served for a number of years as treasurer of
the 'school board and manifests a lively interest
in all that makes for the well-being of the com-
munity. He still retains possession of his fine
farm of six hundred acres, which he rents, the
land being now worth from twenty-five to forty
dollars an acre, while at the time of his arrival
in the county it could be purchased for a few
dollars an acre, — in fact was subject to home-
stead and pre-emption entry. In the summer of
1903 Mr. Hemminger and his family, in com-
pany with John E. C. ^^'ilson and family, made
an extended tour through the Yellowstone Na-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA,
tional Park and other portions of the northwest,
as well as of California, the outinj^ proving- a
most enjoyable one.
On the 30th of January. 1879. I\Ir. Hem-
minger was united in marriage to Miss Minerva
Ellen Scott, who was born in Illinois, while their
marriage was solemnized in Indianola. Iowa, of
which state she was a resident at the time. Of
this union were born five children, of whom only
one is living, — Edith, who will complete her edu-
cation in Alitchell University and who still re-
mains at the parental home, being one of the
popular young ladies of the town and county.
JAMES C. NELSOX, of Yankton county,
was born in Denmark, August 30, 1868, and is
a son of Nels and Julia (Anderson) Olsen, who
came to this country when their son James was
only about five years of age. On the 4th of July,
twenty-nine years ago, they arrived in Yankton
county and the father purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of land near Tabor, investing the
money which he had brought with him from his
native country. In the family were nine children,
namely : Ola. John, Dora, Qiristina. Cecelia,
Fred, James, Andrew and Helena. Of this
number Andrew is now deceased. The parents
are both living, their home being now in Yank-
ton. Mr. Olsen has now retired from active
business and enjoys the fruits of his former toil.
He has reached the age of seventy-five and his
wife is now seventy-one years of age. Thev
celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in
the summer of 1903, and although now well ad-
vanced in years both are enjoying good health..
In the public schools of South Dakota James
C. Nelson was educated, therein continuing his
studies until he reached the age of sixteen. He
afterward, however, became a student in Yankton
College, where he remained for two years and
thus with a liberal mental discipline he was well
pre]iared for the active afifairs of life. Upon
leaving college he turned his attention to farming
in connection with his brother Andrew, who is
now deceased.
In October, 1897, Mr. Nelson was united in
marriage to Miss Jennie Burton and they have
become the parents of three children : Bessie,
Robert and Edith, all of whom are at home. The
farm property of the subject comprises three
hundred and sixty acres of land, a part of which
is under cultivation, while the remainder is used
for pasturage purposes. He raises considerable
stock, having now one hundred head of cattle
ready for the Chicago market. In his business
afifairs he is active and honorable and whatever
he undertakes he carries forward to successful
completion. About eight years ago he planted a
number of apple trees and now has a good orch-
ard. In public afifairs he is energetic and his
labors have been of marked benefit along many
line of progress. He has been a member of the
school board for three terms of six vears and
has been assessor for seven or eight years. In
politics he is a Republican, recognized as one of
the active workers for the success of his partv.
yet he has never been an aspirant for office nor
sought official preferment as a reward for his
party fealty.
JOSEPH HEJL is a native of Bohemia, born
in the year 1847. He spent his youth in that
country and then sought a home in America, be-
lieving that he might find better opportunities in
this country. Accordinglv, he left his native land
in 1868 and when the ocean voyage was com-
pleted he proceeded across the country to Ohio,
where he spent one year. He then went to Iowa,
where he engaged in farming for a year.
In 1873 ^^^i"- Hejl was united in marriage to
Miss Katherine Petrick and unto them have been
born nine children, six daughters and three sons :
Mary, Annie, Frances, Josephine, Katie. Stella,
Joe, Frank and Mattie. The family circle yet
remains unbroken by the hand of death and tlie
children are still with their parents. Thev have
been educated in the English schools and have
thus been well equipped for meeting the respon-
sible duties of life.
In 1871 3.1r. Hejl arrived in Yankton county
and has since carried on general farming here.
He not only cultivates his fields, but also is
I030
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
engaged in the raising of cattle of good grades.
As the years have gone by he has prospered in
his work because he has labored earnestly from
early morning until evening, throughout the busy
season of the year. He has also manifested
sound judgment in the control of his business
affairs and because of his industry and persever-
ance he has won success, being today the owner
of six hundred acres of very valuable land. He
has set up all of the trees upon his place and in
fact has made all of the improvements. He lived
here during the time of the grasshopper scourge,
when the insects descended in such numbers upon
his farm that they ate every particle of vegetation
there. Other discouragements have had to be
met and difficulties have had to be borne, but
with characteristic energy ]\lr. Hejl has worked
on year after year and is now one of the prosper-
ous farmers of this community. In 1890 he
erected a good brick residence upon his place and
has made other substantial and modern improve-
ments, — in fact, his fine farm is a monument to
his life of industry and thrift. He deserves great
credit for what he has accomplished and his life
should inspire and encourage others who hive to
begin as he did, without capital.
JOSEPH J. NED\:ED, of Yankton county,
was born in Bohemia on the 3d of January, 1849,
and is the eldest son of Frank and Veronica
{ .Stadnik) Nedved. At the usual age he entered
the public schools of his native country and
therein continued his studies until he reached the
age of fourteen. He afterward worked upon his
father's farm until he was sixteen years of age,
when he began an apprenticeship at the butcher's
trade, following that calling for two years. When
he was a young man of eighteen years his father
decided to sell the property in Bohemia and took
up his abode in the land of freedom. Accord-
ingly the subject came with the family and lived
first in Cleveland. Ohio, where he was employed
for three years. During a part of that time he
worked as a railroad hand and the remainder of
the period was devoted by him to the mastery of
the cooper's trade. When twenty-one years of
age he came to Yankton county. South Dakota,
and assisted his father in the development and
improvement of the home farm for about three
years.
It was on the 25th of March, 1872, when
twenty-three years of age. that Joseph J. Nedved
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Peterka,
who was born in Bohemia and came to Dakota
with her parents. Five children graced this
marriage : Annie, who is now the wife of Frank
Bartos, a resident farmer and miller of Tabor,
Bon Homme county ; Charles, who is now twenty-
eight years of age and assists in the operation
and management of the home farm ; Mattie, who
has departed this life: and Joseph and Frank,
who are yet under the parental roof.
About 1 87 1 Mr. Nedved pre-empted one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land, which he afterward
traded for a homestead and suljsequently he
bought one hundred and twenty acres, adjoining
his second property. He now owns four hun-
dred and forty acres, but intends to give a quarter
section of this to his son Qiarles. Since coming
to Dakota he has been identified with agricultural
interests, which is the chief source of wealth to
the state, the broad prairies of this locality fur-
nishing splendid opportunity to the farmer and
stock raiser. ]\fuch of l\Ir. Nedved's land is
under cultivation and the fields produce good
crops. He is, however, also extensively engaged
in the raising of stock and finds this department
of his business a profitable source of income. In-
dependent in political views, he votes for the can-
didates whom he thinks will prove most capable
and efficient officials. He has served as school
director for three years and as school clerk for
about one year. Socially he is connected with
the Z. C. B. J., a Bohemian society. He has ever
discharged his duties with marked ability and
fairness, for he is a most loyal, public-spirited
citizen.
LUTHER E. GAGE, a representative citizen
and business man of McCook county and vice-
president of the Security .State Bank of Mont-
rose, was born in New York on the 27th of
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
103 1
July, 1861, and is a son of Eng^ene S. and Elvira
(Hazelton) Gage, representatives of old and
honored families of the Empire state, where they
were both born and reared. They now reside
in Montrose, South Dakota, where they have
made their home since 1880. The father of the
suliject was for many years engaged actively in
farming and stock raising, but is now living prac-
tically retired. Of the eight children in the
famil)- all are living except one. the names, in
order of birth, being as follows : Ellen, Luther
E.. Frank, Matilda, Gertrude, Earl. Orin and
Smith, the last named being deceased. When the
subject was yet a youth, his parents came to the
west and located in Grundy county, Iowa, where
his father .was engaged in farming until his re-
n:oval to South Dakota. The subject secured his
educational discipline in the public schools of
Iowa, and after leaving school he continued to
gi\e his attention to the great basic art of agri-
cidture, to which he has ever since given his al-
legiance, appreciating the fact that it is a proud
distinction to be termed a successful farmer. In
the spring of. 1879, at the age of eighteen years,
]\Ir. Gage came to what is now the state of
South Dakota and settled in Clear Lake township,
^Hnnehaha county, where he entered claim to
one hundred and sixty acres of government land,
perfecting his title in due time and there con-
tinuing to reside until 1892, when he came to
r\IcCook county, where he engaged in farming
and stock raising, eventually "becoming the owner
of a finely improved, landed estate of four hun-
dred and eighty acres, which he still retains in his
possession and to whose operations he still gives
a general supervision. He has given special at-
tention to the raising of high-grade cattle, and
upon his ranch are usually to be found about five
hundred head. In 1893, ^^^- Gage engaged in
the general merchandise business in Montrose,
conducting this enterprise in addition to his
ranching business, and he continued the same
successfully for a period of two years, at the
expiration of which he disposed of his interests
in the line.
In ]\Iarch, 1897. Mr. Gage became associated
with P. Ci. Williams, a leading business man of
Montrose, in the conducting of an agricultural
implement and real-estate business until the
spring of 1902, when the Security State Bank
was organized and opened for business on the
9th day of March of that year. They own the
controlling stock in the bank, and the reputation
which they bear in this section stands as ample
voucher for the reliability and solidity of the in-
stitution and gives assurance of a representative
popular support. Mr. Williams is president of
the bank and the subject is vice-president, while
L. S. Lillibridge is in active charge of the count-
ing room in the capacity of cashier. Mr. Gage
is, in politics, a stanch supporter of the principles
of the Republican party, but has never sought or
held public office of any description. His wife
is a Baptist. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the
Masonic order, in which he has passed the de-
grees of the blue lodge, and is also affiliated with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
On the 23d of May, 1881, Mr. Gage was
united in marriage to Miss Ana Williams, of
this county. She was born and reared in Wis-
consin and is a daughter of William and Mary
Williams, who are now residents of Minnehaha
county, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Gage have
six children, namely: Roy, Nona, Allen. William.
Irene and Clyde. Roy and Allen are students in
the high school at Sioux Falls at the time of
this writing, the former being a graduate of the
class of 1903 and the latter will graduate with
the class of 1904.
DEL:M0NT GOLDSMITH, who was the
founder of the Commercial State Bank of Salem,
McCook county, and who has been president of
the institution from the time of its inception,
was born in Webster City, Hamilton county,
Iowa, on the 30th of August, 1871, and is a son
of Qiarles D. and Delia (Borland) Goldsmith,
the former of whom is still living, the mother
having died in 1882. The father of the subject
was a prominent and honored member of the
bar of the Hawkeye state, where he was activelv
engaged in the practice of his profession for
many \-ears, while for four vears he served as
I032
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
district judge, making a most enviable record on
the bench.
When the subject was ten years of age his
parents removed to Sac City, Sac county, Iowa,
and in the public schools of that place he secured
his early educational training, after which he was
for one year a student in the Rohbaugh Commer-
cial College, in the city of Omaha, Nebraska,
where he completed a thorough business course
and ably equipped himself for the active duties of
life. After leaving school he became assistant
cashier of the First National Bank of Sac City,
retaining this position three years and tlien com-
ing to McCook county. South Dakota, in 1893.
Shortly after his arrival he effected the organiza-
tion of the Commercial State Bank of Salem,
over whose affairs he has since presided as chief
executive, while under his management the in-
stitution 'has been ably conducted and signally
prospered, having ample capitalistic reinforce-
ment and being one of the solid banking houses
of the state. The bank was opened for business
on the 1st of July, 1893, and the attractive and
substantial bank building, of modern design and
equipment, was erected by Mr. Goldsmith for the
purpose to which it is now applied. In politics
Mr. Goldsmith is an uncompromising adherent
of the Democratic party, and fraternally lie is
identified with the blue lodge and chapter of the
?\lasonic fraternity.
On the 23d of October, 1895, Mr. Goldsmith
was united in marriage to Miss Lucile Schneider,
of Salem, South Dakota, she being a sister of
L. \\. J. F. and H. W. Schneider, leading
merchants of Salem. J^Irs. Goldsmith was born
in Huston county, Minnesota, being a daughter
of Joseph and Frances Schiifider, and she was
reared and educated in Salem, South Dakota.
JOSEPH rOXSFC^RD, who is the owner
of an extensive and valuable landed estate in
Buffalo and Jerauld counties, comes of stanch
English lineage and is a native of the beautiful
old city of St. John, province of New Bruns-
wick, Canada, where he was born on the 19th
of January, 1840, being a son of \^'alter F. and
Elizabeth (Henderson) Ponsford, both of whom
died there, the father having been a shipbuilder
b}' vocation. They became the parents of five
children, of whom three are living. The subject
of this sketch attended the excellent schools of
his native city until he had attained the age of
sixteen years, when he set forth to face the stern
battle of life on his own responsibility. He lo-
cated in Racine, Wisconsin, where he remained
two years, engaged in work at the carpenter
trade, and becoming a skilled artisan in the line.
At the expiration of the period noted he removed
to Waterloo, Iowa, where he followed the voca-
tion of contracting and building until 1883. It
should be noted that after the close of the war of
the Rebellion Mr. Ponsford enlisted for service,
serving in the quartermaster's department from
1865 to 1867, within which time he was in
Dakota, with, the forces under command of Gen-
eral Sully.
In April, 1883, Mr. Ponsford came to Jerauld
county. South Dakota, where he took up three
hundred and twenty acres of government land,
in Crow township, and forthwith instituted the
reclamation and improvement of the property.
As success attended his energetic and well-di-
rected efforts he manifested his faith in the value
of South Dakota property by adding to the area
of his landed estate, which now comprises four-
teen hundred and forty acres of exceptionally fine
agricultural and grazing land. He is engaged in
the raising of cattle and other live stock upon an
extensive scale and is one of the most substantial
ranchmen of this favored spction of the state.
He came to Dakota a poor man, and it is gratify-
ing to note the fact that by energetic and well-
directed endeavor in connection with the de-
velopment of the magnificent natural resources
of the state he has attained a most unqualified
success in temporal affairs, his estate being now
valued at about fifty thousand dollars.
He was prominently identified with the or-
ganization of Jerauld county and has ever mani-
fested an insistent and helpful public spirit. He
is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party, and though he has been
urged to accept nomination for various county
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
offices he has invariably refused to permit the
use of his name in such connection. Fraternally,
he is identified with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. Mrs. Ponsford is a communicant
of the Protestant Episcopal church, and in this
faith, the subject also was reared.
On the 2d of May, 1867, Mr. Ponsford was
united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Dunham, of
St. John, New Brunswick, who was born and
reared in St. John, being a daughter of Joseph
O. and Elizabeth Dunham.
JESSE B. INGERSON, the present able
and popular incumbent of the office of county
auditor of Buffalo county, was born in St. Law-
rence, New York, on the 13th of June, 1864, and
is a son of Lewis and Maria (Baraclough) Inger-
son, the former of whom is still living, while the
mother is dead. They became the parents of five
children, of whom the subject was the third in
order of birth, while four of the number are
living at the time of this writing. The father of
the subject was a farmer by vocation and both
he and his wife were represeutatlves of families
long and honorably identified with the annals of
American history. Jesse B. Tngerson was ten-
dered such educational advantages as were af-
forded by the public schools of his native state
and was reared under the invigorating discipline
of the homestead farm. At the age of sixteen
years he left the parental roof to become depend-
ent upon his own resources. He was principally
engaged in farming in New York state until
1883. when, at the age of nineteen years, he
came to South Dakota, which was then a portion
of the great integral territory of Dakota, and
settled in Buffalo county, where he took up gov-
ernment land and set himself vigorously to the
work of reclaiming and improving the same.
That he has been successful is best shown in the
fact that he is now the owner of a fine landed
estate of about one thousand acres, a consider-
able portion of which is devoted to the raising
of grain, while the balance is utilized in connec-
tion with the raising of live stock, to which in-
dustry he has given special attention, carrying on
the enterprise upon an extensive scale and also
being a successful dealer in and shipper of
.stock.
Mr. Ingerson is a stalwart Republican in his
political proclivities, and in the fall of 1902 he
was elected county auditor, assuming his official
duties on the 6th of March, 1903, and having
thus taken up his residence in Gann Valley, the
attractive county seat. He still gives a general
supervision to his ranch, but the county is for-
tunate in having secured his services in an office
for which he is so distinctively eligible. Frater-
nally, he is identified with the Modem Woodmen
of America.
On the 17th of September, i8go, Mr. Inger-
son led to the hymeneal altar Miss Anna Miller,
who was born and reared in South Dakota, being
a daughter of A. W. Miller, a prominent and
honored resident of Buffalo county, this state.
jNIr. and Mrs. Ingerson have five children, all of
whom remain beneath the home roof, namely :
Mvrtle, Laura, Pearl.. Jesse and Flaurence.
THE GARDNER BROTHERS are num-
bered among the representative business men of
Hand county, where they have resided since the
pioneer epoch in its history, and they are now
prominently engaged in the general merchandise
business in the attractive village of Ree Heights.
F. R. Gardner was born in Licking county,
Ohio, on the 9th of May, 1856, and W. T.
Gardner, the junior member of the firm, was born
in La Salle county, Illinois, on the 8th of June,
1S58. They are sons of Gilson and Margaret
(Humphrey) Gardner, five of whose children are
living at the present time. The father of the
subject devoted the major portion of his active
life to agricultural pursuits, and his wife died in
the state of Iowa in 1892. F. R. Gardner re-
ceived his early educational training in the public
schools of Iowa, and later continued his studies
in the Iowa State Normal School at Cedar Falls,
where he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1880. He had previously completed a course
in the high school, and thereafter was for three
years successfully engaged in teaching in the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
public schools of Chickasaw and Boone counties,
Iowa. In 1884 he came to Hand county. South
Dakota, where his brother W. T. had previously
located, and since that time they have been
closely associated in their business enterprises.
They here engaged in the ranch and live-stock
business, to which they continued to give their
attention until 1892, when they established their
present general merchandise business in Ree
Heights, where they have built up a large and
prosperous trade, which is drawn from the wide
radius of country normally tributary to the town.
They carry a large and complete stock in each of
the several departments and by their correct busi-
ness methods and manifest integrity of pur-
pose have gained and retained the unqualified
confidence and esteem of the community. The
firm is also associated with another brother, New-
man A., in the ownership of the Orient State
Bank, of Orient, South Dakota, which was
opened for business in September, 1903, and
which has met with a most gratifying popular
support from the time of its inception. The
brothers are the owners of about fourteen hun-
dred acres of land in the county and have here
attained a high degree of success through their
well-directed endeavors. They are uncompromis-
ing Republicans in their political proclivities, and
their religious faith is that of the Congregational
church.
On the 2d of December, 1886, was solemnized
the marriage of F. R. Gardner to Miss Kate M.
Wetherell, of Janesville, Iowa, and they have
three children, Charles W., Hugh H. and Mar-
ger}-. Fraternally Mr. Gardner is a member of
the Modern Woodmen of America.
W. T. Gardner, like his brother, was reared
to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the
farm, and after completing the curriculum of
the public schools he continued to be identified
with agricultural pursuits in Black Hawk county,
Iowa, until 1881, when he came as a pioneer to
what is now the state of S^uth Dakota. He
settled first in Aurora county, where he took up
land and remained thereon for two years, at the
expiration of which he came to Hand county and
cvcntualh- became extensively engaged in the
ranching and stock-raising business with his
brother, as has already been noted in this sketch.
He first secured in this county a tract of one
hundred and sixty acres of land, in Spring Hills
township, vidiile the extensive holdings of the
brothers in this section now aggregate, as noted,
nearly fourteen hundred acres. The property is
well improved and figures as an asset which is
constantly appreciated in value.
On the 15th of April, 1895, ^^^ T. Gardner
was united in marriage to Miss Anna \Miarton,
who was born in Iowa and reared in Hand
coimty. South Dakota, and of this union has been
born one son, Henrv.
JACOB ENGEBRETSEN HOLTER. num-
bered among the prosperous farmers of Lincoln
county, is a native of Norway, where he was
born on the 24th of June, 1837, and having been
reared and educated in the fair land of his na-
tivity, where his father was for many years en-
gaged in a lumber business, making extensive
shipments to foreign ports and being a man of
sterling worth. Both he and his wife passed
their entire lives in Norway, and of their children
five are living at the present time, while of the
number four are residents of the United States.
The subject of this sketch remained in his na-
tive land until he had attained the age of twenty-
eight years, having received excellent educa-
tional advantages, going through Den Norske
.\rtillery Brigade's Underofficers' Skole, and hav-
ing rendered effective service in the Norwegian
army for a period of seven years. In 1865 he
came to America, landing in Quebec, and thence
making his way westward to Chicago, his finan-
cial resources upon his arrival in the future west-
ern metropolis being represented in a twenty-
dollar gold piece, which he exchanged for green-
backs, receiving one and one-half dollars for each
dollar of gold. He was variously employed until
1868, when he came to the great territory of
T)akota as a pioneer, locating in what is now
Lincoln county and taking up a homestead claim
of one hundred and sixty acres, in the immediate
vicinity of the i)resent thriving city of Canton.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1035
He was one of the earliest settlers in this locality,
and in the pioneer days had to endure the hard-
ships and vicissitudes incidental to establishing
a home on the frontier, neighbors being few and
far removed from one another, while the hostile
Indians were a constant menace to life and prop-
erty. He erected his rude and primitive dwelling
and earnestly set himself to the task of subduing
the virgin prairie to cultivation, and though he
met with misfortunes, through the scourge of
grasshoppers and by reason of unfavorable sea-
sons, he maintained a sturdy courage and in-
domitable perseverance, and has not been denied
his just rewards, since he is now- the owner of
a finely improved and valuable farm of three
hundred and sixty acres, the greater portion of
w hich is under effective cultivation. On his farm
he set out the fine trees and orchard which now
adorn the place, while all the permanent im-
provements are of excellent type and have been
made by himself, he being a carpentej- as well as
farmer. He devotes his attention to diversified
agriculture and stock growing and is one of the
influential and highly honored pioneers of the
county. In politics he gives his support to the
Populist party, and has been active in the pro-
motion of its cause, while the esteem in which he
is held in the community is shown in the fact that
lie has been called upon to serve in various offices
of local trust. He has almost constantly been a
member of the school board of his district, is now
serving his sixth term as treasurer of Canton
township, and was incumbent of the office of
county commissioner from 1870 to 1872, in-
clusive. In 1869 he erected the first frame house
in Canton for J. O. Fitzgerald and at all times
he has shown that progressive spirit which has
typified the sterling pioneers of the state, whose
advancement and great prosperity have been ad-
vanced through their efforts. In religion he is
very liberal. He admits the supremacy of natural
law and rejects orthodoxy. He is a strong mor-
alist and a member of the Norwegian Lutheran
church.
On the 23d of December. 1872, Mr. Holter
was united in marriage to Miss Helga Thor-
steinson, who was born in Xorwav and who was
a resident of Lincoln county, this state, at the
time of her marriage. Of this union have been
born eight children, five of whom are living,
namelv : Engebret, Thorstein, Carl, Emma and
Clara.
FRANK W. DRAKE, one of the prosperous
and honored farmers of Moody county, claims
the old Granite state as -the place of his nativity,
since he was born in Merrimack county, New
Hampshire, on the 30th of December, 1841. He
is a son of W. H. and Betsy (Glines) Drake,
both of whom were born and reared in New
Hampshire, where the father was a prosperous
farmer. In his family were eleven children, and
nine of the number are still living. He died in
1892, when well advanced in years, and his wife
is still living, both having been zealous and active
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
while in politics he was originally a Whig and
later a Republican.
In 1856, at the age of fifteen years, the sub-
ject of this sketch accompanied his parents on
their removal to the state of Iowa, the family thus
becoming numbered with the pioneers of that
commonwealth, where he was reared to maturity
under the sturdy discipline of the home farm,
while his educational advantages were those
afforded by the common schools. On the i6th
of August, 1862, 'Sir. Drake tendered his services
in defense of the LInion, enlisting as a private in
Company K, Twenty-seventh Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, with which he rendered valiant and
faithful service until the, close of the war, when
he received his honorable discharge. His com-
mand became a part of the Army of the West and
he thus was an active participant in the battles
of Nashville, Mobile and Pleasant Hill, besides
others of importance, and also took part in the
Red river campaign under General Banks.
After the close of his military service Mr.
Drake returned to his home in Mitchell county,
Iowa, where he continued to be actively engaged
in agricultural pursuits until 1880. when he dis-
posed of his interests there and came to Moody
county. South Dakota, where he filed on home-
1036
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
stead and timber claims and forthwith inaugu-
rated the improvement and cultivation of the land,
which had never been furrowed by the plowshare
at the time he secured the property from the gov-
ernment. He now has a fine estate of three
hundred and twenty acres, two-thirds of which
are under a high state of cultivation and pro-
ductivity, while the improvements are such as
indicate the progressive ideas and good judg-
ment of the owner. In addition to diversified
agriculture, in the propagation of the various
cereals best adapted to the soil and climate, Mr.
Drake also gives not a little attention to the rais-
ing of an excellent grade of live stock. His po-
litical allegiance is given to the Republican party,
and he has been called upon to fill various offices
of local trust, having served for six years as
justice of the peace and for twelve years as an
officer of his school district.
On the 30th of December, 1873, Mr. Drake
was united in marriage to }iliss Sarah ]\Ionhol-
land, who was born and reared in Wisconsin,
being a daughter of John and Lucind (Burring-
ton) Monholland. Her father was a painter by
trade and vocation and was employed in this line
in Wisconsin and later in California, where both
he and his wife died. Mr. and Mrs. Drake have
four children : Carrie is the wife of Frederick
Bergstresser, of Wentworth, Lake county, this
state; Jennie is the wife of Grant Dockstader, a
farmer near Dell Rapids ; Hilord H. has the gen-
eral charge of the homestead farm ; and Fair also
remains beneath the parental roof, the children
having been given good educational advantages.
OLAUS E. HOLTER, one of the well-
known and prosperous farmers of Lincoln
county, is a native of Norway, where he was
born on the 29th of March, 1840, and he is a son
of Engebret and Carrie (Olson) Holter, both of
whom passed their entire lives in Norway, where
the father was long and prominently identified
with the lumber business. The subject of this
sketch was reared and educated in his native
land, and after he attained years of maturity he
there devoted his attention to lumber work until
his emigration to America. Prior to this radical
change he was married, in 1864, to Aliss Maren
Axelson, a native of the same locality, and she
has proved to him a true helpmeet and ma-
terially aided him in the winning of independ-
ence and definite success. It may be stated at
this point that they have six children, and in the
connection we are pleased to enter a brief record
concerning them : Lizzie, who has been success-
fully engaged in teaching school for the past
ten years, is now residing in that state of Wash-
ington; Annie is the wife of Lauritz Olson, a
successful farmer of Lyman county. South Da-
kota; Martin is associated with his father in the
work of the home farm; Laura has taken up a
claim of land in Lyman county and is residing
on the same, in order to secure title to the prop-
erty : Otto remains at home and assists in the
work of the farm ; and Cora also remains be-
neath the parental roof.
In April, 1869, Mr. Holter left his native land
and came with his wife to America, landing in
New York and forthwith making his way west-
ward to the great territory of Dakota. He set-
tled in what is now Lincoln county, being among
the first to take up a permanent residence here,
while only a few dugouts marked the habitations
of the pioneer settlers, the most of these being
located along the course of the Sioux river. ^Ir.
Holter took up a tract 'of government land in
what is now Canton township, and on the same
constructed one of the rude and primitive dug-
outs, in which he placed his few household ef-
fects, and he then left his devoted wife with two
little babies in charge of the place and went to
Sioux City to secure work, being variously em-
ployed for some time and in the meanwhile car-
rying forward the development and improvement
of his farm. The passing years have not only
shown the result of his labors but have brought
him a full measure of prosperity. He is now
the owner of two hundred and forty acres of
very productive land, and nearly all is under cul-
tivation, while he has embellished the same with
hardy trees and good fences and buildings, his
fine large barn having been erected in 1896. He
gives his attention to diversified farming and
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
also raises live stock of high grade. In politics
Mr. Holter is an independent voter, and he has
served as a school officer of his district.
ALFRED KOHLER, one of the progressive
and successfnl farmers of Moody county, is a
native of the state of Iowa, having been born on
the homestead farm, in Fayette county, on the
i6th of March, 1866. He is a son of Nicholas
and Ivlary (Lang) Kohler, both born and reared
in Switzerland. The father of the subject con-
tinued to reside in his beloved fatherland until
i8;4, when he 'severed the home ties and immi-
grated to America. Soon after his arrival in
the new world he made his way westward to
Iowa and became one of the pioneers of Plymouth
countv, where he has since resided, devoting his
attention to the great basic art of agriculture and
having gained prominence and prosperity as a
business man and valued citizen. His devoted
wife is still living, as are also eight of their ten
children, the other two having died in early
childhood. The father of our subject was a car-
penter in his early life, having followed this
vocation in his native land. In politics he is a
Democrat and both he and his wife are sincere
and consistent members of the Lutheran church.
He is one of the wealthy farmers of Iowa, own-
ing a valuable estate of four hundred acres.
The subject of this sketch was reared to ma-
turity on the homestead farm which was the
place of his birth, and his early educational
training was received in the excellent public
schools for which Iowa has long been celebrated.
He continued to assist in the work and manage-
ment of the home farm until he had attained
the age of twenty-four years, when he initiated
his independent career. In 1893 he came to
South Dakota and located in Moody county,
where he is now the owner of nine hundred and
sixty acres of most arable land, as has been pre-
viously noted, and the entire tract is under ef-
fective cultivation. Mr. Kohler is a man of ad-
vanced ideas, and brings to bear scientific prin-
ciples in his farm work, while he has the busi-
ness thoroughly systematized, realizing that this
is as essential to success in farming as in any
other line of industrial or commercial enterprise.
He has equipped his farm with substantial and
attractive buildings and the place may well be
looked upon as a model. In addition to diversified
agriculture he also gives no little attention to the
raising of an excellent grade of live stock. In
politics Mr. Kohler maintains an independent at-
titude, and he has been called upon to serve as
township trustee and as an officer of the school
district.
On the loth of March, 1S89, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Kohler to Miss Matilda
Miller, who was born and reared in Fayette
count,v, Iowa, being a daughter of Benedict and
Elizabeth (Islay) Miller. Mr. and :\Irs. Kohler
have six children, namely : Otto, Pearl, Vina,
Lester, Lvnn and Lloid.
MICHAEL J. DOUGHERTY, one of the
enterprising and popular young business men of
Alount Vernon, Davison county, was bom in
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of
June, 1868, and was there reared to the age of
eight years, when, in 1876, he accompanied his
parents on their removal to Wisconsin, the family
locating in Waukesha county, where he received
his educational training in the public schools, his
father being there engaged in farming until 1880,
when he came to what is now the state of South
Dakota and took up his residence in Davison
county, being the first to enter claim to govern-
ment land in this county and being the first set-
tler in the present thriving village of Mount
Vernon. He and his wife still reside here, hon-
ored pioneers, and he is sixty-six years of age at
the time of this writing. The subject is a son of
Michael and Mary (Flannagan) Dougherty, the
former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and
the latter in Ireland, and they are the parents of
five children. They are members of the Catholic
church, and in politics Mr. Dougherty is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party.
Michael J. Dougherty, the immediate subject
of this sketch, was about twelve years of age at
I038
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
the time of his parents' immigration to South
Dakota, in the spring of 1880, and here he con-
tinued his studies in the public schools, while he
assisted in the development of the homestead
fami, being identified with the great basic art of
agriculture until 1899, when he established him-
self in the hardware business in ]\Iount Vernon,
where he has built up an excellent trade and is
honored as one of the progressive and represent-
ative citizens of the town. In politics he gives his
allegiance to the Democratic party, and his re-
ligious faith is that of the Catholic church, while
fraternally he is identified with the Brotherhood
of American Yeomen and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. In 1901, as candidate on the
Citizens' ticket, he was elected village clerk of
Mount A'ernon, in which capacity he ser\-cd three
years.
On the 1st of November, 1899, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Dougherty to Miss
Nellie Pollard, of Alt. A'ernon, a daughter of
Joseph Pollard, and of this union has been born
one son, Eugene.
HORACE W. LeBLOND, a pioneer drug-
gist of Chamberlain, South Dakota, and in point
of continuous residence one of the town's oldest
business men as well as one of the leading citizens
of Brule county, was born June 28, 1854, in
Celina, Ohio, and when a child of three years was
taken by his parents on their removal to Min-
nesota, in which state he spent his childhood and
youth and in the public schools of which he re-
ceived his elementary education. The discipline
thus acquired was later supplemented by a three-
years course in the University of ]Minnesota,
after which he took up the study of pharmacy
and pursued the same until becoming proficient
in every detail of the profession.
In 1881 Mr. LeBlond came to South Dakota
on a prospecting tour for a location, and being
pleased with the new town of Chamberlain and
the advantages it afforded to young men of spirit
and enterprise, he decided to make it his perma-
nent place of abode. In due time he secured a
business room and. stocking the same with a full
line of drugs and a complete assortment of such
other articles and sundries as are usually found
in first-class establishments of the kind, opened
his doors and announced himself in readiness to
wait upon his customers. Being the only busi-
ness house of the kind in the place, he soon com-
manded a large and lucrative patronage and his
career from that time to the present day, covering
a period of over twenty-two years, presents a
series of continued advancements, which now
place him in the front ranks of the enterprising
and successful men of affairs in this part of the
state. Air. LeBlond has added largely to his
stock in order to keep abreast of the steadily
growing demands of the trade, and being, as al-
ready indicated, a master of his profession and
at the same time a most courteous and obliging
business man whose relations wiih the public
have always been of a pleasant and agreeable
character, it is not at all surprising that he has
won a warm and permanent place in the con-
fidence and esteem of the people.
Since locating in Chamberlain, Air. LeBlond
has been an influefitial factor in the growth and
development of the place and a conspicuous figure
in its political and public affairs. Although
a strong adherent of the Democratic party,
he was elected in the early days of the
town to the ofiice of city clerk, making
the race on the Peoiiles' ticket and de-
feating a well-known and popular competitor
by a ver>' decisive majority. After serving one
term with credit to himself and to the satisfaction
of the i)ublic, he was re-elected his own successor
on the citizens' ticket, his successful manage-
ment of the office being his greatest recommenda-
tion to the suffrage of the people regardless of
party or political affiliation, his second temi fully
justifying the support given him and adding to
his reputation as an able and judicious and popu-
lar public servant.
Air. LeBlond has a beautiful and attractive
home in Chamberlain which is presided over with
dignity and grace by a lady of intelligence and
varied culture who, since 1893, has worthily and
honorably borne his name, shared his fortunes
and successes, co-operated with him in his en-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1039
deavors and sympathized and assisted him in all
of his aspirations. Mrs. LeBlond before her
marriag;e was Miss Lizzie Bridgeman and she
was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and moved to
South Dakota in 1880. In his business and so-
cial relations Mr. LeBlond has been actuated by
the highest motives of honor and his record is
that of a man of wide intelligence and broad
generous sympathies, whose integrity has never
been questioned and whose character has always
lieen above reproach. He is a Mason of the Royal
Arch degree, an influential member of the blue
lodge in Chamberlain and at various times has
been honored with high official stations in the
different branches of the order with which he is
identified.
JOHN TANCIK, a prosperous agriculturist
of Yankton county, who is living near Lesterville,
was born in Bohemia in 1848, a son of Frank
Anthony Jancik. There was no event of special
importance in his early youth to vary the routine
of life for him, but after he had attained his ma-
jority he was married, in 1870, to Miss Tracy
Xikodyn. Three years passed and in 1873 they
bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed
for the new world. They hoped to find in the
land of freedom the business opporttmities rwhich
were not so easily secured in the old country nor
has Mr. Jancik been disappointed in this hope.
Coming to South Dakota, he homesteaded two
hundred acres and he still owns this property, all
of which he himself fanns. He lived here at the
time when the grasshoppers descended upon the
country in such great numbers, when they seemed
in the air like an immense cloud. Settling upon
the fields, they destroyed in a few hours the crops
which it had taken months of labor and care to
ripen. Other hardships and trials have been met
by Mr. Jancik, but he has with courageous spirit
borne all these difficulties and at length has
triumphed over the obstacles in his path to suc-
cess so that he is now a prosperous farmer of his
community. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jancik were
born ten children : Louise, who is at home: .\nnie
and Amelia, also under the parental roof; Rosie,
the wife of Joe Rankin, a resident farmer of
Yankton county ; Sophia, who is employed in the
city of Yankton ; Tina, Mary, Minnie, Emil and
Tillic, who are also at home.
Becoming a naturalized American citizen,
Mr. Jancik, after informing himself concerning
the political conditions of the country and the
belief of the parties, allied his interests with the
Re]nibHcan party and has since supjiorted its men
and measures. He is a member of the
Evangelical church and is a man of considerable
force of character, having depended entirely
upon his own exertions since an earlv age. While
in Bohemia he mastered the tailor's trade and
followed it there, but since coming to the new
world he has carried on agricultural pursuits and
his farming interests are now valuable. His life
history proves how excellent are the business ad-
vantages afforded in the United States to young
men of energy, whose labors are not hampered
bv social or caste conditions. ,
RASMUS BEDERSON was born in Nor-
way on the 26th of August, 1861, being a son of
Jorgen and Christence Pederson, who emigrated
from the fair Norseland to America in 1867,
locating first in Wisconsin, where they remained
until the following year, when they came to the
wilds of the great territory of Dakota and cast
in their lot with the pioneers of Yankton county.
The father of the subject took up a homestead
claim eight miles northeast of the city of Yank-
ton, on the James river, and here passed the re-
mainder of his long and useful life. He de-
veloped a fine farm and the place is now one of
the best improved and most productive in this
section, its area being now three hundred and
twenty acres. He continued to reside on the
homestead until his death, which occurred in
Jime, 1900, and his widow is still living on the
old farm, which has been her home for more than
thirty-five years, her son Rasmus, subject of this
sketch, having had charge of the farm since the
deatli of his father. In the family of this worthy
couple were four children, of whom two are liv-
ing, Rasmus and Ole.
1 040
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Rasmus Pederson grew up under the sturdy
discipline of the homestead farm and under the
influences of the pioneer epoch in a section which
he has seen develop into one of the most attractive
in the great state of South Dakota. His edu-
cational advantages were "such as were afforded
in the district schools, and he has lived on the
home farm consecutively except for a period of
about five years, — from 1883 to 1888, — during
which he was engaged in business in the city of
Yankton. He is an energetic and progressive
farmer and has been successful in his efforts,
while he holds the esteem of the community in
which he has passed nearly his entire life. He
gives his support to the Republican party and he
and his wife are members of the Lutheran
church, while fraternally he is identified with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America.
On the 23d of October, 1888, Mr. Pederson
was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Jane
Emerson, who was bom in Fayette county, Penn-
sylvania, on the 23d of March, 1866, being a
daughter of Aquila and Ellen Emerson, who
came to Dakota in 1884. :Mr. and Mrs. Pederson
have three children, namely: Rena E. Christina,
Amanda Johanna and Ralph Emorv.
GEORGE S. RIX, the present city attorney
of Milbank, Grant county, is a native of the state
of Minnesota, having been born in Spring Val-
ley, Fillmore county, on January 26, i86g,
and is a son of Porter N. and Emma (Winters)
Rix, the former of whom was born in Canada,
and the latter in England. Porter N. accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Wisconsin
when a small boy, and he was reared to manhood
in that state, whence, about i860, he removed to
Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he became
a prominent and successful farmer and stock-
grower, devoting special attention to the raising
of fine horses and high-grade cattle. He was one
of a large family of boys, and nearly all of them
have been more or less prominent in politics and
other affairs of a public nature.
George S. Rix was graduated in the high
school of Spring Valley as valedictorian of the
class of 1889. He was then matriculated in the
law department of the University of Wisconsin,
from which celebrated institution he was gradu-
ated in 1891, with the degree of Bachelor of
Laws, while he was simultaneously admitted to
the bar. Upon the opening; <if t1ic Sisseton-Wah-
peton Indian reservation, in Aiiril. 1892. he took
up his residence on a claim near Brown's Valley,
Minnesota, where he remained about one year,
until the ist of January, 1893, when he came
to Milbank. where he entered into professional
partnership with the late John W. Bell, under
the firm name of Bell & Rix. They were associ-
ated in practice about one and one-half years,
since when Mr. Rix has conihicliil ,111 individual
practice, retaining a rt'incM iii;ui\ r rlicnta^^e and
having gained marked iirmnl). Mr. Rix early
developed oratorical and dialectic skill and thus
laid an excellent foundation for comprehensive
knowledge of parliamentary law. His first speech
given outside the lyceum or school was made in
the J\Iethodist Episcopal church of his native
town on the occasion of the centennial anniver-
sary of the inauguration of George Washington
to the presidency, and his success was such that
he soon found himself much in demand as a
speaker on public occasions. He has continued
to appear as a speaker on matters of public polity,
political affairs, patriotic observances, etc. Dur-
ing the campaign of 1900, while a law student,
his services were given to the Democratic party
at various places in Wisconsin. However, he
became convinced that the principles for which
the Republican party stands sponsor most nearly
represent the highest interests of the people, and
he signalized his conviction by transferring his
allegiance, to the "grand old' party," in whose
cause he has ever since been an enthusiastic and
active worker. In 1892, while a resident of Rob-
erts county, he was a delegate to the Republican
state convention, as was he also from Grant
county in 1896, while in 1896 he became a mem-
ber of the Republican state central committee, in
which capacity he served two years. In 1896
he was elected state's attorney of Grant county,
continuing incumbent of this position two terms
GEORGE S. RIX.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
and making an admirable record as a prosecu-
tor. He has served as city ' attorney since 1902.
Fraternally he is identified with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pyth-
ias, in the former of which he has passed all
the official chairs in his lodge. He and his wife
are valued members of the First Congregational
church, taking an active interest in the various
departments of its work. They have an attract-
ive home on Fourth street, and he is also the
owner of other residence property in Milbank.
On Christmas day of the year 1895 was sol-
emnized the marriage of Mr. Rix to Miss Maud
C. Nash, who was born and reared at Cherry
Grove, Minnesota, being a daughter of L. H.
Xash, an old and honored resident of that sec-
tion. Mr. and Mrs. Rix have one child, Doris C.
ADDISON H. PEASE, postmaster at
Wagner and publisher and editor of the Charles
Mix County New Era, is a native of the state of
Michigan, having been born in Lacota, Van
Buren county, on the 17th of May, 1867, and
being a son of Enoch M. and Rachel A. Pease.
The former was born in Wayne county. New
York, in 1830, and the latter in Pennsylvania, in
1838. They came to South Dakota in 1882, and
the father died in Wagner, this state, on the 26th
of February, 1901, while his devoted wife passed
away, in the same town, on the 25th of January,
1903. Enoch M. Pease was of stanch German
lineage, the family having been established in
America fully twelve generations ago. He was a
wool carder by vocation, was a man of sterling
integrity and ever commanded unqualified con-
fidence and esteem. Pie was a Republican in
politics and he and his wife held membership in
the Methodist church. They became the parents
of six children, all of whom are living, while the
subject of this sketch was the third in order of
birth.
Addison H. Pease came to South Dakota in
November, 1882, in company with his parents,
being at the time a lad of fifteen years. His edu-
cational advantages were such as were afforded
in the common schools, which he continued to at-
tend as opportunity afiforded after the removal of
the family to the territory of Dakota. As he
has personally stated, his education was secured
"principally by hard knocks and practical ex-
perience," since he early began to depend upon
his own resources. He has never been willing to
wait for opportunity but has turned his hand to
whatever honest work has come to hand. In
early days he drove stage and for eight years
after his marriage was variously employed. In
June, 1895, ^^ ^ool'- "P 3 homestead claim on
Yankton reservation, Charles Mix county, and
gave his attention to its improvement and cultiva-
tion until January i, 1901, when he took up his
residence in the town of Wagner, having been
appointed postmaster. He also purchased in that
year the plant and business of the New Era, a
weekly paper, and has since continued its publica-
tion, making it an effective exponent of local in-
terests and an advocate of the principles of the
Republican party, in whose cause he has been
an active worker. Mr. Pease is one of the char-
ter members of Wagner Tent, No. 59, Knights
of the Maccabees, of which he is now com-
mander.
.\t Armour, this state, on the ist of Septem-
ber, 1890, Mr. Pease was united in marriage to
Miss Carrie Thompson, daughter of Harry
Thompson, who was at that time sheriff of
Douglas countv.
DELATUS HINMAN, of Yankton county,
was born in Oswego county. New York, April
6, 1848, and is of English lineage. His paternal
great-grandfather was Edward Hinman, who de-
serted the land of his birth and established his
home in the new world and the family has since
been represented in America by loyal adherents
of the interest of this country. The grandfather,
Ephraim Hinman, was drafted for service in the
war of 1812. The parents of the subject were
William and Julie (Salisbury) Hinman, both of
whom were natives of New York, in which state
they lived and died. The father was a farmer
by occupation and a well-known representative
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
citizen of this countrv. He died in the year 1888
and his wife passed away in 1884. Tliey were
both members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and hved in harmony with their profession. The
political support of Mr. Hinman Was given to
tlae Whig party, and later to the Republican party
and eventually he became a Prohibitionist.
Delatus Hinman was reared in his father's
home and assisted in the cultivation of the farm
until he had attained his majority, when he en-
tered upon an independent business career as a
school teacher and followed that profession
through several winter terms. Attracted by the
opportunities of the rapidly developing west, he
came to Yankton county in the fall of 1869,
traveling by stage from St. Louis. He has been
identified with the educational interests of this
locality for several terms as a teacher, and in
1869 he made preparations for carrying on agri-
cultural pursuits by entering one hundred and
sixty acres of land from the government, while
to this he afterward added another quarter sec-
tion. He afterward sold both tracts and in the
fall of 1870 he bought one hundred and sixty
acres in township 94. range 55. There were no
improvements ujjon the place except a log house,
but he has since devoted his knowledge to the
care and cultivation of the farm, upon which
he has Hved continuously since 1877. He has a
fine farm and in 18/8 he erected a substantial
and attractive residence. He has likewise built
good barns and added other improvements and
the boundaries of his farm he has extended by the
purchase of eighty acres. The entire farm is now
under cultivation. In the early days he lost his
crops because of the grasshoppers, but he per-
severed in his work and as the years have gone
by he has accumulated a comfortable competence.
He now breeds hogs and cattle and makes a
specialty of the production of alfalfa hay. He
has a good apple orchard, containing some of
the best bearing trees of the state, and his farm
is modern in all its equipments and constitutes
one of the valuable properties of the community.
On the 1st of March, T877, ^^^- Hinman was
united in marriage to Miss Jane Ottman, a
daughter of Jacob and Christiana Ottman, who
spent their entire lives in New York, the father
being a successful farmer there. He voted with
the Republican party and both he and his wife
were members of the -Disciple church. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Hinman has been born one son, Byron,
whose birth occurred January i, 1885, and who
is now a student in college at Yankton. In 1893
they adopted Mary Kincel, nine years of age,
whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kincel, were
both deceased. The child took the name of Mary
Kincel Hinman, and has been given a good edu-
cation, graduating from Yankton Academy in
June, 1903. The parents hold membership in the
Methodist church, taking an active part in its
work, and their labors are effective in promoting
its welfare and extending its influence.
Mr. Hinman is a Prohibitionist, with strong
party tendencies, and fraternally he is connected
with the Modern Woodmen, the Pyramids and
the Royal Tribe of Joseph. Because of his suc-
cess and sterling worth, Yankton county num-
bers him among her representative men.
NOR^lAX D. AVHTTE was born at Scales
Mound, Illinois, August 2, 1863, and is a son
of John and Henrietta C. (Phelps) White. The
father was born December 25, 1826, at James-
town, New- York, and was the youngest son of
Moses and Sallie (Cheney) White. The family
is of English descent and was founded in America
by Elder John Wliite, who emigrated from
England to Massachusetts in 1632. The grand-
father of the subject was a goldsmith by trade
and removed from Southington, Connecticut, to
New York in 1791. He finally married and
settled at Jamestown, New York. His wife was
born and reared at Essex, Vermont. John WHiite
spent his childhood in Jamestown and attended
the public schools. He early showed marked
musical talent and became a skillful violinist. In
1846, at the age of twenty, he went to Chicago,
Illinois, and thence by stage to Galena, where he
worked for two years as a fami hand and about
the lead mines and also found many profitable
op])ortunities for the employment of his musical
skill. He was married in 1848 to Henrietta
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1043
Phelps, of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, a daugh-
ter of Milo and Charlotte (Beldian) Phelps,
formerh^ of Jasper, New York. Locating upon
a farm north of Scales Mound, he there engaged
in farming and stock raising for many years, ac-
cumulating considerable property. In the fall of
18S0 he visited his brother at Yankton, South
Dakota, and was so well pleased with this locality
that he invested in real estate in the fertile
James river valley. In 1885 he disposed of his
property in Illinois and located on his South Da-
kota farm. He added to his possessions from
time to time until he owned over thirteen hundred
acres of as fine land as can be found in the state.
In all his work and dealings he left the impress
of a considerate, careful-minded man and one
of strong, forceful chara:ter. In his long linger-
ing illness he manifested great patience and for-
bearance which characterized his entire life. He
voted vi'ith the Democracy and was a loyal mem-
ber of the Methodist church, to which his wife
also belongs. She survives him and is yet living
on the old homestead. In the familv of this
worthy couple were nine children : Thomas, in
1840, married ]\Telvina Wells and with his familv
of four children lives upon a farm in Yankton
county: Cecil J., born in 1854 and now conduct-
ing- a countr}- store in Y'ankton countv, married
Miss Viola Hill and they have an adopted child;
Delia, born in 1859. '^ the wife of William C.
Coulson. a resident farmer of Yankton county,
bv whom she has three children ; Norman D. is
the next of the family ; Lee is a carpenter of St.
Louis, Missouri ; Addie, is the wife of William
Van Epps, a liveryman of Yankton, and they have
three sons. The three other children of the White
familv died in Illinois. All were provided with
good educational privileges and Delia engaged in
teaching school, while Addie taught music.
Thomas displayed much of his father's musical
talent as a violinist. The diflferent members of
the family are now comfortably situated in life
and are valued residents of the various com-
munities in which they reside.
Norman D. White spent his earl\- life in
Illinois and with his father came to South Da-
kota in the spring of 1885. He has since re-
sided upon the home farm here and has taken an
active part in its management and operation. At
the time of his father's death he was appointed
executor of the estate, comprising eleven hundred
acres of land in Yankton county. He now car-
ries on general farming and stock raising, mak-
ing a specialty of Guernsey cattle, splendid bred
horses and Poland-China hogs. He has handled
stock extensively, becoming one of the leading
representatives of this line of business in the
county and his large sales have brought to him
a splendid financial return. His home is pleas-
antly located on the banks of the James river,
four miles from Yankton, and in 189 1 he erected
an elegant farm residence which is one of the
most attractive features of the landscape. There
is found an artesian well upon his place and also
a fish pond. He has a blacksmith and carpenter
shop upon his farm and he possesses excellent
mechanical ability, so that he is enabled to keep
everything about his place in first-class condition.
Mr. White is a most energetic and enterprising
man and his resolution and strong purpose have
been important factors in a successful business
career. He lives with his mother and both are
highly esteemed in the community. Fraternally.
Mr. White is connected with the Pyramids and
the Maccabees. He is an honored son of an
honored pioneer and today occupies a very
prominent and enviable position as a represent-
ative of agricultural interests in South Dakota.
CHARLES E. SEELEY. one of the well-
known and representative citizens of Clark
county, is a native of the Wolverine state, having
been born in Oakland county, ^Michigan, on the
31st of May, 1 84 1, and being 'a son of Edward
H. and Calista (Walker) Seeley, the former of
whom was born in Seneca county. New York,
and the latter in Connecticut, while it may be
stated that the original ancestors of the subject
in the maternal line settled in New England in
the pre-Revolutionary days. Edward H. Seeley
devoted his life to farming and was one of the
pioneers of the state of Michigan, where both
he and his wife died. His father was a promi-
I044
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
nent lawyer in New York, and served for a num-
ber of years as county judge of Seneca county.
The subject of this review received his early
educational training in the common schools of
his native state and also attended a select school
for a short time, just prior to the outbreak of the
war of the Rebellion, in which he participated.
On the 17th of August, 1861, he enlisted as a
private in Company D, Fifth Michigan Volunteer
Infantry, and a few weeks later proceeded with
bis command to the front. He was wounded in
the battle of Williamsburg) Virginia, on the 5th
of May, 1862, and rejoined his regiment three
days before the opening of the seven days' fight-
ing before the city of Richmond. He received
his honorable discharge in the autumn of 1862,
by reason of disability, and then returned to his
home in Michigan. He there continued to be
engaged in farming about five years, after which
be learned the trade of carpenter and became a
successful contractor and builder. In 1893 ^^
came to South Dakota and located in Maydell
township, Clark county, and here he has con-
tinued contracting and building, having con-
tributed materially to the substantial develop-
ment and progress of this section and having also
become the owner of a well-improved and pro-
ductive farm, to whose management he has given
his attention to a greater or less extent.
]Mr. Seeley has gained and retained the re-
spect and confidence of the people of the county
and is recognized as a loyal and progressive
citizen. Tn politics he has given his support to
the Republican party from the time of attain-
ing his legal majority, having cast his first
presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, at the
time of his second nomination, and having ever
since been a stalwart upholder of the principles
and policies of the "grand old party." He has
been called upon to serve in various township
offices and is at the present time incumbent of
that of justice of the peace. He is treasurer of
the Garden City Co-operative Creamery Com-
pany, one of the leading business concerns of the
county. Fraternally, he is identified with the
Grand Army of the Republic, and for the past
score of vears he has been a zealous member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs.
Seeley also is a member.
On the 22d of March, 1865, was solemnized
the marriage of !\[r. Seeley to Miss Lucy O.
Green, who was born in the state of Michigan,
being a daughter of Z. R. and Zerilla Green, and
they have seven children, namely : Elmer G.,
Harry M., Emmet C, Eugene, May R.. Frank A.
and Alice Louise.
J. M. DOYLE, one of the influential and
honored business men of Delmont, Douglas
county, is a native of Grant county, Wisconsin,
where he was born on the loth of May, 1854,
being a son of John and Mary (Brady) Doyle,
of whose six children five are living, namely : Dr.
E. M., who is engaged in- the practice of his
profession in Yankton, this state; Thomas, who
is a resident of Grant county, Wisconsin ; Gar-
rett, who, likewise, resides in that county; John
S., who is a resident of Kansas City, Missouri;
Sarah M., who married William Sheridan in Oc-
tober, 1881, and died a widow in 1892; and J.
M., who is the subject of this review. The father
of the subject was born in County Wicklow,
Ireland, where he was reared to maturity, and he
was there identified with the mining industry
until 1846, when he emigrated to America, locat-
ing in Grant county, Wisconsin, as one of its
early pioneers, and there he engaged in mining
for two years. He entered a tract of government
land in that county, improved a good farm, to
whose cultivation he gave his attention until
his death, which occurred in 1886, at which time
he was seventy-three years of age. He was twice
married, the maiden name of his first wife having
been Farrell, and of this union were born four
children, of whom two arc- living, — Terrence,
who is a retired farmer of Pocahontas county,
Iowa ; and Anna, a maiden lady, residing in
Shellsburg, Wisconsin. The mother of the sub-
ject was also a native of County Wicklow,
Ireland, and she died in 1881, at the age of
sixty-five years, both she and her husband hav-
ing been zealous members of the Catholic church,
while the latter was a Democrat in politics.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1045
J. M. Do\lc was reared on the homestead
farm in Wisconsin, receiving- his early educa-
tional (liscii)line in the public schools and sup-
plementing the same by a course of study in St.
John's College, in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
In 1879 1''^ ^^'^ his brother Garret rented land
in Grant county, that state, where they were en-
gaged in farming for the ensuing two years, at
the expiration of which they purchased a meat
market in Fairplav, Wisconsin, conducting the
same one year. In 1882 the subject came to
Dakota, located in Plankinton, Aurora county,
and thus becoming one of the pioneers of what is
now the state of South Dakota. He located two
claims in that county and while complying with
the legal requirements necessary to retnining the
same he conducted a confectioner}' store in the
village mentioned, there continuing his residence
for seven years. A\'ithin this period he made a
visit to his old hrmie in \\'isconsin, remaining
about one year. In i8go Mr. Doyle disposed of
his property in Plankinton, Aurora county, and
removed to Pocahontas county, Iowa, with the
intention of engaging in the real-estate business
in company with bankers there. No satisfactory
arrangements could be made, however, and after
teaching a three-months term of school in Iowa,
he returned to Dakota, taking up his residence in
Plankinton, and from March until July, 1889,
he held the position of insurance underwriter for
the Dakota Mutual Protective Association, which
was organized and incorporated under the laws
of the territory for the purpose of rendering in-
surance indemnity on live stock, the executive
corps being as follows : H. C. Ayres, president ;
Richard Hancy, secretary, and W. T. Lafollette,
manager. In the autumn of the same year Mr.
Doyle went again to Iowa, passing some time
there and in the city of Chicago, his object being
to promote the organization of a land companv
to handle western properties, but again he was
unable to enlist satisfactory capitalistic co-
operation, and after teaching school for three
months, in Pocahontas county, Iowa, he re-
turned to South Dakota, locating in Delmont on
the 17th of August, 1891, as the representative of
the firm of T. McMichael & Son, of McGregor,
Iowa. He had the management of their elevator
and grain Ijusiness here until i8g8, when he pur-
chased the business, which he has since success-
fully continued. In January, 1892, he established
the first pennanent hog market in Delmont, and
he is today one of the heaviest buyers of grain
and live stock in this section of the state, while
he is known as an energetic and able business
man and as one who is worthy of unqualified con-
fidence and esteem, which are uniformly accorded
by all who know him. In politics he is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party, but he has never been ambitious for public
office. In the fall of 1902 he was tendered by his
party friends the nomination for either sheriff of
the county or for representative of the district in
the state legislature, but he refused to become a
candidate for either office. He was later ap-
pointed a member of the board of county com-
missioners, to fill the vacancy caused bv the re-
moval from the county of the regular incumbent,
D. M. Brennerman. He is a most effective and
popular auctioneer, in which line he is a pioneer
in this section, his services being in demand
throughout a wide radius of country in the cry-
ing of sales of various sorts. He and his wife are
communicants of the Catholic church, and fra-
ternally he is affiliated with Armour Lodge, No.
100, Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen, at
Armour.
On the 14th of June, 1898, Mr. Doyle was
united in marriage to Miss Sarah Catherine
Kelley, who was at the time principal of the
Delmont public schools, being a lady of refine-
ment and gracious presence, and they are the
parents of two children, William Bryan and
Lucille Bernice.
JOHN r\IEIER, one of Germany's native
sons, was born on the fith of August, 1835, his
parents being Jathan and Elizabeth Meier.
The father was a tailor by trade and thus pro-
vided for his family. In 1856 he brought his
wife and children to the LTnited States, settling in
Broadhead, Wiscotisin. John Meier, who ac-
quired his education in Germany, accompanied
1046
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
the family at that time and in Wisconsin he took
a claim from the government and hegan farming
on his own account. He was married Febru-
ary 12, 1866, to Miss Caroline Dubois, of Rock
county, Wisconsin. Her father was a success-
ful farmer of that section. Unto the marriage
of Mr. and Mrs. Meier were born four sons and
three daughters, namely : John. George, Jathan,
Josephine, Alma, Gilbert and Hattie, and the
family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand
of death. George married Julia Rinker, by whom
he has one child and is a farmer, residing upon
a tract of land adjacent to his father's farm.
Josephine is the wife of Frank Ray, an agri-
culturist living near Wagner, South Dakota. The
other children are yet under the parental roof.
Mr. Meier continued to reside in Wisconsin
imtil the spring of 1872, when he came to South
Dakota, settling in Yankton township. Much of
the land was still in possession of the government
at that time and he secured a claim of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, to which he has since added
by the purchase of three hundred and twenty
acres near his old homestead. He is engaged in
stock raising and is today one of the progressive
agriculturists of his community. The success
that has crowned his efforts has come to him as
the reward of his perseverance and his earnest
labor and now at the age of sixty-eight years
he is enjoying the fruits of his former toil, hav-
ing a valuable property and a comfortable home.
He is independent in politics, as he is in religious
faith, although he endorses the teachings of the
Methodist church to some extent. Both he and
his wife are estimable people, enjoying the warm
regard of many friends.
RE\'. D. B. NICHOLS has devoted his life
to two of the most important callings which man
can give his energies, the healing of the body and
the care of the soul, and his life has been one of
extreme usefulness, his influence widely felt for
good as a factor in the community in which he
lives. He was born in Massachusetts on the 8th
of October, 1816, and is a son of James and Lydia
D. (Bliss) Nichols, natives of the old Bav state.
The father was a miller and for several years
was superintendent of a large cotton mill. He
also served as deputy sheriff of Bristol county
and gave his political support to the Whig party.
He held membership in the Congregational
church and died in that faith in 1832, while his
wife passed away in 1864. In the family were
six sons and one daughter, but all have passed
away with the exception of the subject.
Rev. Nichols was reared in the east and en-
joyed the excellent school privileges of his native
state, while later he had more advanced ad-
vantages. He pursued a classical course in Ober-
lin College of Ohio in 1839 and then, for ten
years engaged in teaching and occasionally
preached, being then employed by the missionary
society in Iowa. Subseciuently, he pursued a
course in medicin.e in Howard University, where
he was graduated in 1872. He is the oldest
graduate of that institution, a fact which was
mentioned in one of the Washington papers. He
was identified with the rise and progress of
Howard University, being one of its instructors,
its librarian, a trustee and curator of its museum.
For about eleven years he remained in the Capital
city and also spent a short time in the practice of
medicine in Florida. Since 1850 he has engaged
in preaching and followed that calling in Ken-
tucky, where he was also engaged in teaching
school. His labors have always been directed
along lines which have proven of the greatest
benefit to his fellow men. He served as city mis-
sionarv in Chicago, Illinois, and was superintend-
ent of the Chicago Reform School from 1854
until i860, when he resigned and went to Europe
at his own expense, visiting reform schools in
England, Scotland and Germany for the purpose
of rendering his own labors in that line more
effective. Upon his return to his native country
he was appointed superintendent of the State
Reform School at Lansing, Michigan, where he
remained for a year and then went to Boston.
Locating at Scituate Harbor, he there remained
until after the outbreak of the Civil war. In
i8fit he went to South Carolina to preach to the
negroes who had formerly been held as slaves
and also to act as a teacher amonfj them. There
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
he continued until midsummer when he went to
New York and afterward to Washington to act
as a missionary among the colored people of that
city. In Washington he was appointed super-
intendent of the contraband department service
and had four thousand people under his charge
to whom he gave supplies of food and clothing.
In the year 1880 Mr. Nichols came to De-
catur, settling in Bon Homme ci^unty. where he
began preaching. He built a church there and
remained for three years as its pastor, "at the end
of which time his health failed and he returned to
Boston, Massachusetts, but after he had re-
covered somewhat his usual health and strength
he once more came to Dakota, visiting various
churches in the state and preaching to many con-
gregations. He was also engaged in presenting
the claims of Yankton College. His influence
has been most marked in the moral development
of South Dakota since his arrival here about
twenty-five years ago. He is now an honorable
trustee of Howard University, at Washing-
ton, D. C, and also for years a trustee of
Yankton College, and now a member of the
college corporation. At one time he served as
librarian of Yankton College. Seventeen years
ago he located at his present home, which was
then in the midst of the frontier district. He built
the church at Mission Hill and has assisted in the
entire growth and development of this portion
of the state. For three years he served as post-
master and with the work of progress and im-
lirovement he has been actively identified along
material as well as moral lines. His chief in-
terest, however, has centered in the moral de-
velopment of the people and his influence has
been far-reaching and beneficial.
Rev. Nichols has been twice married. He
first married Sarah Chisman, whose parents
were from Virginia. After the death of his first
wife he wedded Elizabeth Booth and they lived
together for sixty years, her death having oc-
curred in the latter part of the year 1903, at the
age of eighty-eight years. Rev. Nichols has now
reached the advanced age of eighty-six years.
They were the oldest couple in the countv and
none were more respected. Air. Nichols votes
with the Republican party and has been active
and helpful in matters pertaining to the intel-
lectual progress of the community, acting as one
of the school officers. He is identified with the
Congregational church here and in Dakota as
in other sections of the country where he has
lived and labored for his fellow men he has
accomplished much good. His life has been de-
voted to the welfare of the human race and to
the opposition of all the vices that hold men
in bondage and today there is no citizen of
Yankton county held in warmer regard or higher
esteem than Rev. D. B. Nichols.
FRED C. RIX was born in Denmark on the
18th of May. 1839. His father was a farmer
there and his parents spent their entire lives in
that countr_\-. In early life Fred C. Ri.x went to
sea and has sailed around the world. He visited
Africa in 1861 and the Philippines in 1862, after
which he returned to Holland. He has been on
the isle of Java, and has visited Russia. Siberia,
Prussia, England, Belgium, France, Sweden,
Norway and Germany. He has sailed from
many ports and in the employ of different nations
and was always upon a sailing vessel, never mak-
ing a voyage upon a steamer until he came to the
United States. He was in the war when the
Danish fought the Prussians in 1864 and was
injured, having his leg broken during a high
sea. Mr. Rix continued to reside in Denmark
until 1872, when he crossed the Atlantic to the
new world, locating first in Chicago, where he
followed the mason's trade for two years. He
afterward lived in Waterloo, Iowa, where he en-
gaged in business as a brick-mason for four
years and in 1877 he came to South Dakota, se-
curing one hundred and sixty acres of land in
Yankton county. He settled upon a timber claim
and has planted thirty-eight thousand trees since
that time. He has one hundred and sixty acres
in his homestead and his first place of residence
was a dugout, while later he built a clay house,
known as a Russian homg. Mr. Rix now has
thirty-four hundred dollars' worth of improve-
1048
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ments upon his place and he also owns six lots
in the town of Irene, together with another
tract of an acre and a quarter.
In 1863 occurred the marriage of Air. Rix
and Miss Elizabeth Olson, whose parents spent
their entire lives in Denmark, the father being
employed in a foundry there. The home of the
subject and his wife has been blessed with four
children. Olivia, the eldest, is now deceased ;
Henry married Anna Massy and is living near
Bismarck, North Dakota, where he owns and
operates one hundred and sixty acres of land ;
Stella is the wife of Nels Nelson, of Kenmare,
North Dakota, where he secured a homestead :
Julia is the wife of Lawrence Nelson, a farmer
owning two hundred and forty acres of land in
Yankton county.
Air. Rix is an indejiendent voter and has
never been an active politician in the sense of
office seeking, but for eight years he served as
one of the school officials. He belongs to the
Lutheran church and his Qiristian faith has been
exemplified in his honorable life and his straight-
forward dealing. He is now living retired in the
enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
LARS C. CHRISTENSEX was born in
Denmark on the 19th of November, 1856. His
father is now deceased, but his mother lives with
her son, who, having spent the days of his boy-
hood and youth in his native countn,-, came to
America when a young man of nineteen years.
After spending one year in Racine, Wisconsin,
where he was employed, he removed to South
Dakota and here entered the employ of a stock-
man, with whom he remained upon a farm for
two }-ears. He afterward worked for the rail-
road company for a year and subsequently was
married and turned his attention to farming. Mr.
Qiristensen is now one of the prosperous resi-
dents of Yankton county and his financial con-
dition is now in great contrast to that in which
he arrived in America, for he then had but very
limited capital. He possessed, however, what
is better — strong courage and determination, and
his continued labor has been the foundation upon
which he has built his success. He has two hun-
dred and forty acres of land, of which two hun-
dred is pasture land. His wife homesteaded a
part of this land and Mr. Christensen purchased
the remainder. He now carries on general farm-
ing and also raises shorthorn cattle and some
hogs. He employs men who operate his land
and has a well-improved property. He hauled
the rock from his place and in 1885 he built a
rock barn, while in 1897 he provided still better
and more commodious accommodations for his
stock by building new barns. His home was
erected in 1886. In 1899 he planted trees upon
his place and now has a very well-improved prop-
erty supplied with all modern equipments and
accessories. He now owns twelve head of horses
and thirty-five head of cattle and already this year
has sold twenty head of fat cattle.
In 1879 Mr. Qiristensen was united in mar-
riage to Miss Johanne Petersen and unto them
have been born seven children : Catherine, the
wife of J. Tule, a farmer : Ma^v^ Anna, Qirist,
Lewis, Jens and Dagmer, all at home. The
family is well known in the community and the
members of the household occupy an enviable
position in social circles. Mr. Christensen is a
Republican in his political views, always sup-
porting the men and measures of that party. He
has' served as school treasurer and in other local
positions and no trust reposed in him has ever
been betrayed in the slightest degree. ' His re-
ligious faith is indicated by his membership in
the Lutheran church. Mr. Qiristensen has never
had occasion to regret his determination to come
to America for he has not only found a good
home, but has also gained many friends and won
for himself a handsome competence as the re-
ward of his labors. He is, perhaps, better known
as Lars C. Bukste, but no matter by what name
he is called he is a man worthy of respect and
esteem of those with whom he is associated.
ALEXANDER LePLANTE was born in
Qiarles Mix county. South Dakota, in April,
1867, and owing to the exigencies and conditions
of the time and place his early educational ad-
HISTORY. OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1049
vantag-es were limited in scope, though he se-
cured a good foundation, upon which to build up
the fund of practical knowledge which is his
today. He continued to be associated with his
father in the raising of live stock until 1887, when
he initiated his independent career in connection
with the same line of industry, which has become
one of the most important resources of the state.
He utilized the range in the valley of the Bad
river until 1S94, since which time his cattk- have
found their grazing grounds on the broad acres
of the Cheyenne Indian reservation. Mr. Le-
Plante has an average head of seven hundred
head of cattle, and makes his residence and head-
quarters at the Cheyenne government agency,
of which he has been official butcher since 1899,
providing all meats used.
On the 14th of November, 1893, Mr. Le-
Plante was united in marriage to Miss Johanna
Madison, a daughter of that honored pioneer,
Trnles Madison, of Fort Pierre, concerning
whom individual mention is made on other pages
of this work. Mr. and Mrs. LePlante have five
children, namely : Loiiis, Edward, George,
Gavlord and Caroline.
ORLANDO P. SWARTZ, one of the promi-
nent and highly honored business men of Hutch-
inson county, is a native of the state of Illinois,
.having been born in Jo Daviess county, on the
21st of April, 1864, and being a son of Elias M.
and Susan I'Rudy) Swartz, of whose eight chil-
dren we incorporate the following brief record :
Martins H. is a resident of Gillette, Wyoming;
Edith is the wife of James Brown, of Menno,
South Dakota; Sarah is the wife of Schuyler C.
Freeburg, of Sunnyside, California; George is
engaged in the drug business in Parkston, South
Dakota ; Maud is the wife of Nelson C. Davis, of
Crook county, Wyoming; Frederick is likewise
a resident of that county, as is also Grover; and
(Irlando P. is the immediate subject of this sketch.
Elias M. Swartz was born in Center count}-,
Pennsylvania, being a representative of one of the
sterling pioneer families of the old Keystone state
and coming of stanch German lineage. As a
young man he removed to Illinois, settling in
Stephenson county, engaging in agricultural pur-
suits, this being the vocation to which he had
been reared. He later removed to Jo Daviess
county, where he continued to reside until 1882,
when he came to South Dakota, remaining for
a short interval in the village of Scotland and
then entering claim to land in Qiarles Mix
county, where he engaged in the breeding and
raising of cattle and horses, becoming one of the
prominent and influential citizens of that section
and commanding the most unqualified esteem of
those who knew him and had cognizance of his
sterling qualities of mind and heart. He died in
1901, having been a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, while his political allegiance
was given to the Democratic party. His widow
now makes her home with her children in Wyo-
ming, she likewise being a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
The subject of this sketch remained at the
parental home until he had attained the age of
twelve years, having in the meanwhile attended
the public schools and assisted in the work of
the farm, and he then went to the city of Free-
port, Illinois, where he resided in the home of
his uncle about five years, during which period
he continued his educational work in the schools
of that place. In 1879 'i^ returned home, re-
maining one year, at the expiration of which he
went to Iowa Falls, Iowa, where he was em-
ployed in the drug establishment of his uncle,
John L. Swartz, for the ensuing three years. In
July, 1883, he came to Scotland, Bon Homme
county. South Dakota, where he secured a clerical
position in the drug store of another uncle, Wil-
liam P. Swartz, and in 1884 he went to Spring-
field, Bon Homme county, where he was em-
ployed for two years in the drug store of Bone-
steel & Turner, having in the meanwhile be-
come an expert pharmacist. In September, 1886,
in which year the town of Parkston was founded,
he took up his residence here and engaged in
the drug business on his own responsibility. In
1888 he entered into partnership with Frank
Wiedman, who was here engaged in the hard-
ware business at the time, and thereafter until
I050
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1898 the firm of Wiedman & Swartz here con-
ducted a most jirosperous business in the
handling of hardware, implements and drugs. In
the year mentioned they disposed of the drug de-
partment of their enterprise and added a general
line of merchandise, building up one of the most
important and extensive trades of the sort in
this section of the state. In 1901 they also pur-
chased a general stove business at Milltown, and
they now conduct the same as a branch of their
Parkston establishment. In 1901 !^Ir. Swartz
was appointed postmaster of Milltown, and he is
still incumbent of this ofiice, in which he is serv-
ing by proxy. In politics he is found arrayed as
a stanch advocate of the principles of the Re-
publican party, while fraternally he has attained
the thirty-second degree in Scottish Rite
Masonry, being identified with Oriental Consist-
ory, No. I, at Yankton. His ancient-craft mem-
bership is in Resurgam Lodge, No. 31, Free and
Accepted Masons, at Mitchell, and he belongs
to El Riad Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Sioux
Falls, while he is also a member of Milltown
Camp, No. 6153, Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 25th of September, 1885, Mr. Swartz
was united in marriage to Miss Margie W. Rob-
inson, of Iowa Falls, Iowa, she having been born
in Concord county, New Hampshire, daughter
of Horace Robinson, deceased. Of this union
have been born two children, Mabel C, who is
attending All Saints' Academy in Sioux Falls,
and William R., who remains at the parental
home. Mrs. Swartz is a member of the Congre-
eational church of Iowa Falls, Iowa.
JOSEPH E. HUBER was born on the 21st
of February, 1867, in Iowa, and in 1869 was
brought to Dakota by his parents. Peter Huber,
the subject's father, was born in Possan, Bavaria,
Germany, about 1838, his parents being agri-
cultural people. He came to America about
1871 and settled at McGregor, Iowa, where he
worked as a farm hand for about one year. At
the end of that time he purchased twenty acres
of timber land and at once commenced clearing
and cultivating the ground. After three years
he exchanged this land for a yoke of oxen, a cow
and a wagon, and with these he moved his family
overland to South Dakota, settling in Yankton
county, in the James valley. He pre-empted thrrr
claims of one hundred and sixty acres each, twn
of which were timber claims, and afterwards pur-
chased three more claims of the same size ami
character. He erected buildings and farmed the
ground as fast as his limited resources and his
own physical strength would permit, and suc-
cessfully conducted the place until 1901, when he
removed to Yankton and retired from active life.
He still owns six hundred and sixty acres of the
original farm, the remaining portion of it having
been divided among his sons. Before leaving
Germany he married Miss Theresa Reisinger and
they became the ])arents of fifteen children, of
whom eleven are still living, namely : Frank,
whose sketch will be found on another page of
this work; Caroline, the wife of Frank Heinige.
of Parkston, South Dakota (they became the
parents of ten children and the mother is now-
deceased) ; Joseph is the subject of this sketch;
Peter, who lives near Parkston, married Kate
Wallace, of Yankton, and they are the parents of
five children; Mary is the wife of John Mack, of
Gage county, Nebraska, and they have six chil-
dren ; Katie is the wife of Patrick McGilig, of
near Hanson, this state, and they have two chil-
dren : Charles married Bertha Rothmyer and
they had three children, one of whom is de-
ceased; Theresa is the wife of Nels Anderson, of
Yankton, and they have two children ; Bertha be-
came the wife of Gerald Smith, of Yankton ;
Celia, Josephine and Louisa are single and re-
main at home. Two, Peter and Edward, died in
infancy, and Anna died at twelve years of age.
At ten years of age Joseph E. Huber entered
the public schools and his preliminary studies
were supplemented by a course in Yankton Col-
lege. He thus gained an excellent education and
for three years he taught in the public schools,
proving a capable educator who imparted with
readiness and clearness to others the knowledge
that he had acquired.
On the 9th of October. 1892, Mr. Huber was
joined in wedlock to Miss Emma Rothmeyer,
,xv:,
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
105 1
who was born in Iowa. Six children have graced
this marriage, five of wliom are now Hving, while
one has passed away. Those who still survive
are Clara, Anna, Martha, Joseph and Mildred.
The daughter who is deceased was Eleanora.
The home farm of Mr. Huber comprises one
hundred and sixty acres of land, most of which
he cultivates, and his energy and activity in busi-
ness affairs are bringing to him very creditable
success. Since he was eighteen years of age he
has been a member of the school board and he
has also been chairman of the board of super-
visors. He filled the office of justice of the peace
for a term of two years and in all these positions
he has been loyal to the trust reposed in him.
Over the record of his public career and his
private life there falls no shadow of wrong or
suspicion of evil. He is a man well worthy of
public regard and as almost his entire life has
been passed in Yankton county his career is
known to be one that is worthy of commendation,
gaining for him the favor of all and the friend-
ship of many.
Mr. Huber was tendered the nomination of
representative, but not wishing to serve in that
capacity refused to allow his name to go before
the convention. He has always been affiliated
with the Democratic party, and always takes an
active part in his party's campaigns. He is an
active member of the Roman Catholic church,
and attends the St. Agnes church, of which
Father Byrne, of Yankton, is the officiating min-
ister. Mrs. Huber is an active member of the
same church and the children are regular attend-
ants of the Sunday school.
Mr. and Mrs. Rothmeyer, parents of Mrs.
Huber, moved from Iowa to South Dakota in
1883. The mother died in 1894, and the father
is living a retired life in Yankton. He was again
married.
SILAS BURTON, one of the honored and
esteemed residents of Yankton county, was born
in Litchfield countv, Connecticut, on the 22d of
December, 1837, his parents being James and
Harriet Burton, in whose familv were nine chil-
dren, namely: Silas, Malvina, Lewis, Diadama,
Almoure (who died in the United States army),
Charles, Mary, Elizabeth, Florence, Ruth and
George. All but five have passed away, these
being Silas, Malvina, Charles, Diadama and
Ruth, and with the exception of the subject and
Ruth these are residents of New Haven. Con-
necticut.
The public schools of Litchfield county. Con-
necticut, afforded to Silas Burton his educational
privileges and he continued his studies until nine-
teen or twenty years of age, thus gaining a broad
practical knowledge in order to fit him for the
responsible duties of a business career. When
he put aside his text-books he worked at the
butcher's trade at Kent Corners, Connecticut,
being thus employed until 1863, when his
patriotic spirit was aroused and he enlisted in
the Second Heavy Artillery of Connecticut, being
with the army for twenty months. He par-
ticipated in the battles of the Wilderness and
afterward became ill and has never yet fully
recovered his health. Before starting to the front
he was married on the 6th of December, 1862, to
Miss Ellen Stewart, who was born in Hunter,
New York, a daughter of Alonzo and Mary
fTate") Stewart. In her parents' family were
six children : Edgar, Herman, Ellen, Charles,
William and George, of whom Edgar and
Giarles are now deceased. The living brothers
of Mrs. Burton are yet residents of Connecticut.
Following the Civil war Mr. Burton removed
from Connecticut to New York, where he re-
mained for two years and then came west with
his family. In 1868 he settled in Yankton
county, South Dakota, having traveled by stage
from Sioux Citv to his destination. The gov-
ernment afforded good facilities for purchasing
land and Mr. Burton secured a pre-emption
claim of one hundred and sixty acres. Subse-
quently he purchased an additional tract of one
hundred and sixty acres and he now farms two
hundred and eighty acres, raising grain and
stock. In 1 88 1, bv reason of the flood caused
bv the ice gorges in the Missouri, he lost all of
his cattle, his house and his barns, in fact, his
entire personal property was destroyed save one
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
team of horses. Thus he has met with dis-
couragements in what would seem to be a pros-
perous career. He has ever persevered in his
work, however, and as the years have gone by
he has accumulated a comfortable competence
and has become one of the very successful farm-
ers of South Dakota. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burton
have been born eight children : Mary, who be-
came the wife of W. R. Smith, died at the age
of twenty-three years, leaving two children,
Edgar and George, but the latter was drowned
in the Missouri river at the age of thirteen years
and Edgar is now living with his grandfather,
the subject of this review ; Edgar, the second
child of Mr. Burton, has passed away; Hattie is
the wife of Mr. Anderson, a farmer of Yank-
ton county ; Jennie is the wife of M. C. Nelson,
a resident farmer of this county ; Arthur is living
at home at the age of fourteen years ; Theodore
has departed this life and two of the children
(lied in infancy. For the past thirty-five years
Mr. Burton has been connected with the schools
of Dakota and the cause of education finds in
him a w^arm and helpful friend. In politics he
is a stanch Democrat and fraternally he is con-
nected with the Masonic lodge. His wife and
children are members of the Congregational
church and the family is one of prominence in
the community, the members of the Burton
household occupying an enviable position in so-
cial circles and in the regard of their many
friends.
HENRY HASKAR, one of the represent-
ative men of Yankton county, was born in the
fatherland in 1836 and the schools of Ger-
many afforded him his educational privileges.
He was a young man when he resolved to seek
a honie in the new world and after living in
Tennessee for a time he removed to Ohio and
twentv-seven vears ago came to South Dakota.
Under the homestead act he secured a quarter
section of land in Yankton county across Beaver
creek. He afterward ])urchased two hundred and
eighty acres near Utica and now owns four hun-
dred acres of rich land which is cultivated bv his
sons. For many years Mr. Haskar was actively
connected with its improvement and develop-
ment, but now he is living retired. He and his
wife occupy a pleasant home in Yankton.
In 1864 Mr. Haskar was united in marriage
to Miss Mary Heine and unto them have been
born nine children : Annie, the eldest, is now de-
ceased; Kate, the next in the family, is the wife
of Henry Houker, a farmer residing in Irene,
South Dakota, and they have five children ; Mary
has also passed away ; Henry and Peter are both
enterprising young farmers who are operating
their father's land. The latter was married April
22. 1903, to Miss Katie Wagner, who was born
in Yankton county and is a datighter of George
C. and Anna (Kramer) Wagner, prominent
farming people of this locality. iMaggie is the
wife of John Rankin, a prosperous farmer of
South Dakota ; Lena is the wife of Albert Wag-
ner, who also follows farming in this
state ; Hattie is the wife of Norman Lcpt, and
Tesse is with her parents in Yankton and both
are graduates of the public school of Yankton
county and are popular in social circles there.
Mr. Haskar has served as school director for
the past twenty years. In the early days he
made his own home to be used as a schoolroom,
for the people were then too poor to build a
schoolhouse. He has always taken a deep inter-
est in the cause of education, putting forth every
effort in his power to advance its interests and
his efforts have been far-reaching and helpful
in this direction. In his political views Mr.
Haskar was formerly a Democrat, but now votes
independently, supporting the men and measures
of no particular party, but casting his ballot as
he thinks will do the most good in promoting
general progress. He fomierly belonged to the
Farmers' Alliance and he and his wife are
members of the Catholic church and attend the
services in Yankton. They occupy an attractive
and comfortable home at No. 701 Broadway
and a cordial hospitality is extended to their
many friends. Mr. Haskar has ever been
known as a courteous, genial gentleman who
while firmly upholding his own opinions has
always manifested due deference for the opin-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ions of others. His work in the county has been
of a helpful and beneficial nature and this section
of the state has profited by his residence here.
JOHN CHAMBERLIN, one of the sterling
pioneers of Cambria township. Brown county,
is a native of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
vania, where he was born on the 2d of March,
183 1, being a son of Jolm and Anna aiamberlin,
both of whom were born and reared in the state
of New Jersey, the father being a miller by
vocation. The subject was reared to manhood
in the state of New Jersey, having been assigned
to the care of his uncle when he was eleven
vears of age. In that state he gained his edu-
cation and at the age of sixteen entered upon a
four-years apprenticeship at the trade of wagon-
making, receiving the sum of one Inmdred dol-
lars in cash for the services rendered during
this period, while he was permitted to work in
the harvest fields two weeks each season, thereby
gaining a little extra money. In 1852 he came
west to Kingston, Green Lake county, Wiscon-
sin, where he established a shop and engaged in
the work of his trade, also dealing in general
merchandise on a small scale. He followed his
trade for a period of thirty years, having been
foreman of a large shnp in \'ermont prior to
his removal to Wisconsin. He remained in
Kingston seven years and then removed to
Portage Citv, Wisconsin, where he was for one
year employed in the car shops of the Qiicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Later he re-
moved to Randolph, in the same state, where he
made his home until 1880, having served as
postmaster of the town for the greater portion
of the intervening period. In the year men-
tioned Mr. Chamberlin came to what is now the
state of South Dakota, taking up a homestead
claim in Brown county, on July 15th, this being
the place on which he has ever since continued
to reside, having brought his family to the pio-
neer farm in October of the same year. Dur-
ing the winter of 1880-81 he and his family oc-
cupied a sod house on an adjoining farm, and
during a period of eight months no other woman
than his wife entered the primitive dwelling,
with one exception, the nearest neighbors being
one and a half miles or more distant. It is
needless to say that the family encountered its
quota of hardships and deprivations, and during
the winter mentioned some of the flour used in
the household was obtained by grinding the
wheat in a common coffee-mill. In the fall of
1880 Mr. Chamberlin hauled lumber from
Watertown and constructed a small house on
his claim, while his present comfortable and at-
tractive farm residence was erected about fifteen
years ago, the other farm buildings being like-
wise of substantial order. At the time he came
here there were but four or five other families in
Cambria township. Shortly after taking up his
residence here Mr. Chamberlin also took up a
tree claim, and his landed estate now comprises
four hundred and eighty acres, of which three
hundred and twenty comprise the home place,
while the remaining one hundred and sixty acres
constitute a separate farm, about a half mile
distant. The subject has from the beginning
devoted his attention mainly to the raising of
grain and at the present time he devotes three
hundred acres to this branch of his enterprise.
He has raised as high as thirty bushels to the
acre, and his largest crop in one year aggre-
gated thirty thousand bushels. He was promi-
nentl\- concerned in the organization of the town-
ship and has been closely identified with its de-
velopment and material upbuilding. He has
served for many years as chairman of the board
of township trustees, and in i8gi he was elected
to the office of countv commissioner, in which
capacity he served three years. In politics he
is arrayed as a stalwart supporter of the prin-
ciples of the People's party, and both he and
his wife are zealous and valued members of the
Methodist Episcopal church at Booth. They
were concerned in the organization of the
original class which resulted in the founding of
this church, about 1884, and of the few who
thus gathered together for worship there is prob-
ably but one other left in the township, Mrs.
Wenz. Mr. Chamberlin has been an official in
the church from the time of its organization to
I054
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
two years ago and was Sunday school super-
intendent fifteen years.
On the 24th of April, 1837, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Chambcrlin to Miss Martha
I. Clark, who was born and reared in Vermont,
having received her education in the academy at
Brandon, that state, and having been a success-
ful teacher for about two years prior to her
marriage. They have no children.
WILLIA^M KOEPSEL, a member of the
state senate and one of the honored citizens of
Brown county, is a native of the Badger state,
having been born on a farm in Dodge county,
Wisconsin, on the 27th of June, 1858, and being
a son of Herman and Caroline (Detlaff) Koep-
sel, who were numbered among the sterling pio-
neers of that state. The subject grew up under
the invigorating discipline of the farm and re-
ceived his educational training in the public and
parochial schools. He continued to be identified
with the great industry of agriculture in Wis-
consin until 1882, when he came to what is now
South Dakota and cast in his lot with its people.
He secured his present farm, in Groton town-
ship, shortly after his arrival in the state, having
now a well improved and attractive farm of four
hundred and eighty acres and being known as
a progressive and enterprising agriculturist and
stock-grower. In politics IMr. Koepsel has ever
been a stanch advocate of the principles and
policies of the Republican party, and while he
has been an unostentatious worker in the party
cause he has not been animated by ambition for
office, so that his selection to his present dis-
tinguished position as a member of the state
senate, in the fall of 1902, indicates in how high
esteem and confidence he is held by the people
of the district from which he was chosen for
this honorable preferment. In the senate he was
assigned to the committees on education, federal
relations, public health, charitable and penal in-
stitutions, and legislative expenses, and in each
of these important connections he proved him-
self signally faithful to the duties devolving
upon him, while he introduced and stanchly ad-
vocated four bills of no slight importance,
though never seeking to make himself obtrusive
in the great deliberative bodv of which he is an
able member. He is recognized as a man of
most scrupulous honesty of purpose in all the
relations of life, and thus the people of his dis-
trict consistently place their trust and confidence
in him as a representative of their interests and
those of the state at large. He is a member of
the Lutheran church, and has been president of
the Groton congregation since its organization.
Mr. Koepsel was married, in March, 1883, to
Bertha Waugerin, a native of Wisconsin, who
died in April, 1885, leaving one son, Edward.
He was married again in February, 1888, to
Adeline Wegner, of Groton. Mrs. Koepsel died
in August, 1900, leaving three daughters, the
oldest, Emma, being eleven years ; the second,
Frieda, nine years, and the youngest, Lydia, four
years old. Mr. Koepsel was married the third
time in April, 1902, to Miss Meta Zahl, of Min-
nesota, a native of Germany.
DAVID PATERSON is an American by
adoption, his native country being Scotland,
where his birth occurred on the 6th day of Oc-
tober, 1856. His parents, William and Margaret
(Duncan) Paterson, were born in Scotland,
spent their lives there on a farm, and both lie
buried in the old cemetery where sleep so many
of their kindred and friends. David Paterson
was reared to agricultural pursuits and enjoyed
the advantages of a common-school education.
When a youth he learned the tanner's trade and
followed the same at different places in Scot-
land imtil his twenty-second year, when he de-
cided to go to America, accordingly in 1879 he
and his brother, Colin, took passage and in due
time arrived at their destination, after which
they spent a couple of months in New York,
where the subject found employment in a tan-
nery. In July of the same year the brothers
went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they
worked at the tannery trade during the two years
following, and it was while thus engaged that
David made a trip to South Dakota and entered
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1055
a tract of land in Kingsbury county. Hiring a
man to break about twenty acres, he returned
to his work in Milwaukee and there remained
until the spring of 1881, when he again came to
South Dakota to take possession of his land and
attend to its cultivation. After erecting a small,
but comfortable dwelling, he planted twenty-
five acres of his own land and twenty acres on
the claim belonging to his brother, and in due
season reaped fair returns from his first effort
at South Dakota farming. On June 5, 1881,
Mr. Paterson chose a wife and helpmeet in the
person of Miss Jane Allardice, of Scotland, the
marriage being the culmination of a tender at-
tachment between the two, which began in the
old country, where they first became acquainted.
After preparing a home and finding himself in
circumstances to support a wife, he sent for his
intended bride, who in due time made the long
journey from Scotland to South Dakota, where
the nuptials were duly celebrated.
Mr. Paterson began life in the west under
very modest auspices, but by industry and thrift
he soon succeeded in getting the fair start which
paved the way to more favorable circumstances.
He developed a fine farm, raised cattle and other
live stock, from which he usually received a
liberal income, and by well-directed and per-
severing efforts, as well as excellent manage-
ment, finally reached the condition of prosperity
he now enjoys. His farm, which embraces an
area of four hundred acres, is admirably situated
in one of the richest agricultural districts of the
county, and with its good residence, a comfort-
able barn, fences and other improvements
indicates the home of a man of enterprise, who
is thoroughly familiar with every detail of agri-
cultural work. In addition to general farming
and stock raising, Mr. Paterson, since 1895, has
been interested in the dairy business, keeping
about twenty cows, the milk from which finds a
ready market at the creamery in Lake Preston.
The career of Mr. Paterson from the time of
landing on Ajnerican soil with less than one hun-
dred dollars in his possession to his present
conspicuous position, among the leading farmers
and representative citizens of his adopted county,
presents a series of successes such as few
achieve and affords many lessons which the
young of the present generation may study with
profit. Mr. Paterson is a member of the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America of Lake Preston, and
in politics supports the principles of the Populist
party, though formerly a Republican. He has
religious convictions and has been a leading
member of the Congregational church at
Lake Henry since its organization in 1886,
besides serving three years as superintendent of
the Sunday school. His wife and three daugh-
ters also belong to the Lake Henry church and,
like him, they are zealous workers, demonstrat-
ing by their daily lives the genuineness of their
religious profession. Mr. Paterson takes a
special interest in temperance work and all
agencies for the benefit of the people. He has
never been a seeker after office or any kind of
public place, notwithstanding which his fellow
citizens, irrespective of party, have honored him
at different times with positions of responsibility
and trust.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Paterson con-
sists of seven children : Colin C, a young man
of very good habits, who assists his father on
the farm ; Beatrice, a graduate of the DeSmet
high school and a teacher of much promise;
Frances, also a graduate from the above school;
Margaret, who is pursuing her studies in the
high school; William, -David and Florence are
three bright, intelligent students of wTiom their
parents feel proud, and in whom are centered
many fond hopes for the future.
A. P. ROBINSON, who is justly considered
one of the leading agriculturists of Brown
county, was born in St. Lawrence county. New
York, March 23, 185 1. When a boy he was
taken to Wisconsin by his parents and spent his
youth, until nineteen years of age, in Dodge
county, that state, living on a farm until his four-
teenth year. Meanwhile he acquired a common-
school education and on leaving the farm en-
tered his father's store. In 1869 he went to
f^
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
native town and secured his early educational
training in its public schools, after which he com-
pleted a course of study in St. Lawrence Univer-
sity, in Canton, that state, where he was gradu-
ated as a member of the class of 1880. He then
took up the study of law. in the office of Hon.
Leslie W. Russell, of that place, one of the most
eminent members of the bar of the state. He
served as attorney general of the state, was a
member of congress for several terms, while in
1884 he was defeated for the LTnited States sen-
ate by a few votes, his opponent being the Hon.
William M. Evarts. He later became an associ-
ate justice of the supreme court of the state, re-
signing this office a short time before his death.
Under this able and honored preceptor Jiidge
Stearns prosecuted his legal studies, continuing
in the office of Judge Russell until 1884, when he
accompanied his preceptor to Albany, being one
of his clerks while he was serving as attorney
general. During the winter of 1884 the subject
took a course of lectures in the Albany Law
School, having been admitted to the bar of the
state in November of the preceding year. Judge
Stearns was graduated in the lav,' department of
Union University, in Albany, on the 22d of May,
18S4, having completed the prescribed two-years
course in one year, and from this institution he
received the degree of Bachelor of Laws, .\fter
his graduation he entered upon the active practice
of his profession in Canton, New York, where
he remained one year. In April, 1885, he came
west on business, and became so impressed with
the attractions of this division of our national
domain that he located in Wadena, Minnesota,
where he was associated in practice with Frank
Wilson until 1887, meeting with excellent success.
In 1889 his father died and he returned to his
old home in New York to assist in the settlement
of the estate. He had previously, in 1887, visited
South Dakota on business, remaining several
months, and upon returning to the west he located
in Fort Pierre, this state, in 1890. Here he has
since been engaged in active practice, retaining
at the present time a large and representative cli-
entage and holding high prestige at the bar of
the state. He served three terms as state's attor-
ney for Stanley county, and one term as judge
of the county court, making an excellent record
in each of these offices. He was one of those
prominently concerned in bringing about the
abolishment of the grand-jury system in South
Dakota, and he drew the first information for
murder after the law of 1896 went into effect,
said information having been drawn on the 3d
of July of that year, while the law went into
effect only two days previously. During his
first term as county attorney he was prosecutor
in three murder trials, and while serving on the
county bench he settled the estate of Frederick
Dupree, amounting to one hundred and eighty
thousand dollars. The Judge has been an ardent
and effective worker in the cause of the Repub-
lican party, and in 1892-3 was secretary of the
Republican League of the state. Early in the
vear 1893 Gov. Charles H. Sheldon selected Mr.
Stearns for one of his staff and commissioned
him a colonel. He held this appointment for four
\-ears, and did his full share of the honors and
entertaining at the South Dakota building at
the World's Fair in Chicago during the season
of 1893. He was also appointed and commis-
sioned by Governor Sheldon to represent this
state as a delegate to the World's Real Estate
Congress, held in Chicago during the week com-
mencing October 12. 1893. He was a charter
member of Hiram Lodge, No. 123. Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, at Fort Pierre, and the
charter for the same was secured largely through
his efforts, as there was no little opposition on
the part of other lodges. Owint^- to the danger
entailed in crossing the Missouri river at cer-
tain seasons of the year he finally secured the
required dispensation from the grand lodge. He
has been a strong advocate of the project of build-
ing a railroad from Pierre to the Black Hills, and
his opinions and written articles on the subject
have been freely quoted and republished.
From the time of locating in the state Judge
Stearns has been more or less interested in real
estate and stock raising enterprises, and in 1900
he effected the organization of the St. Paul &
Fort Pierre Cattle Company, of which he has
been vice-president and general manager from the
I1IST(3RY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
time of its inception. J. B. Little, of St. Paul,
Minnesota, is president, and H. A. Knight, of
Minneapolis, is secretary and treasurer. The
company is capitalized for one hundred thousand
dollars, and is engaged in the grazing and ma-
turing of beef cattle, having one of the finest
stock ranches west of the Missouri river, the same
being located on the Bad river, two and one-half
miles south of Fort Pierre, where they have a
large ranch and fine ranch buildings. They make
a specialty of buying Texas cattle, shipping them
to their ranch and here maturing them for the
Chicago market, while the company are rapidly
increasing the number of stock fed on the ranch,
conducting operations on a constantly increasing
scale.
On the 24th of November, 1893, Judge
Stearns was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary A.
Miar, who was born and reared in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania, being a daughter of John Heyler,
a prominent farmer of Tioga county. No chil-
dren have been born of this union.
ARTHUR H. SEYMOUR, minister and
educator, was born in Portage county. Ohio,
August 15, 1868. His father, Deming. Seymour,
a native of Massachusetts, was the son of Gideon
and Corinthia Seymour, both of English de-
scent, their respective ancestors being among the
earliest settlers of New England. In his young
manhood Deming Seymour married ]\Iiss Har-
riet Hallock, of Portage county, Ohio, whose
parents, Colonel William R. and Julia Hallock,
were also descended from old New England
families, several representatives of which served
in the colonial army during the Revolutionary
war. Some of the Seymours were also heroes of
that struggle and rendered distinguished service
in the cause for independence. Deming Seymour
grew to maturity on a farm in Portage countv,
Ohio, and after his marriage, engaged in
the pursuit of agriculture near Roostown,
where he lived until his renioval to Wind-
liam, in the same county, some years later.
He departed this life at the latter place in Feb-
ruary, 1888, leaving a widow who now lives
with her daughter in the city of Cleveland, and
three children, namely : Arthur H., of this re-
view ; Alice, wife of C. R. Bissell, Esq., and
George D., a prominent business man of Wind-
ham, Ohio.
Arthur H. Seymour spent his early life in the
village of Windham and ip 1886, when eighteen
years old, was graduated from the high school
of that place. He then entered the Ohio Nor-
mal University at Ada, where he completed the
prescribed course in 1887 and subsequently,
1898, received the degree of INIaster of Arts
from the same institution. He also studied one
year at Oberlin. After finishing his education
he spent seven j'ears teaching in the schools of
Portage county, three of which were devoted to
high school work, and in 1895 he yielded to a
desire of long standing by entering the ministry
of the Church of Christ, locating the same year
with a congregation at Carthage, South Dakota.
After preaching at that point until September.
1897, he took charge of the church at Arlington,
and two years later accejited the superhitend-
ency of the Arlington public schools, the duties
of which position he has since discharged in con-
nection with his ministerial work. Professor
Seymour's present pastorate has been signally-
successful. Since entering upon his labors the
church has prospered along every line of activity,
its membership has greatly increased, a marked
spiritual growth has also been noticeable and in
1902 the beautiful and commodious edifice in
which the congregation now worships was
erected and dedicated to the services of God.
Professor Seymour's religious work has not
been restricted to the specific field in which he
now labors, but has extended throughout the
state, as he served two years as secretary of the
State Christian Endeavor Union, and one year
as president, during which time he traveled quite
extensively, preaching at many points and striv-
ing to strengthen the organization and add to
its influence and efficiency.
As an educator the Professor occupies a
prominent position among the leading school
men of South Dakota, and his reputation as a
I superintendent is second to that of but few of his
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1059
compeers. The high standard of excellence
which the educational system of Arlington has
attained under his management affords the best
evidence of his ability as an organizer, and it
is now generally conceded that in point of ef-
ficiency the schools of that town are among the
best in the county. His services as an institute
conductor are in great demand and he spends
no little part of his vacations in this kind of
work. He has conducted two very successful
institutes in Kingsbury county, and has also
labored efficiently in similar institutions in the
counties of Gregory and Miner. He is 'a mem-
ber of the state and national educational associa-
tions, and of the Religious Education Associa-
tion. In addition to the above bodies, Professor
Seymour is identified with the Brotherhood of
American Yeomen, of Arlington, besides mani-
festing at all times a lively interest in local or-
ganizations for the promotion of educational and
religious endeavor.
On November 12. 1896, Professor Seymour
was united in marriage with Miss Jennie I. San-
ford, of Portage county, Ohio, who died in June,
i8g8, after a most happy wedded life. In 1900
he married Miss Flora M. Wilson, of Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, who for several years had
been a teacher in the public schools of that
city. Like her husband, Mrs. Seymour is active
in all lines of church and general religious work,
and has served very efficiently as president and
secretary of the State Qiristian Endeavor Union,
a position requiring a high order of clerical and
executive ability. Professor and Mrs. Seymour
have two children, a son by the name of Gideon
Deming and a daughter named Margaret Isabel.
CHARLES W. SNYDER, who is the
owner of a fine landed estate in Mellette town-
ship, Spink county, is a native of the Badger
state, having been born in Waukesha county,
Wisconsin, on the loth of January, 1855, ^^'^
being a son of A. K. and Margaret Snyder, the
former of whom was born in Gennany, while
the latter was a native of Ireland. Both died
in Wisconsin, where the father was engaged in
agricultural pursuits for many years, having
been one of the early settlers in Washington
county.
The subject grew up on the home farm and
as a bov became inured to the strenuous work
involved in its cultivation, while he received his
educational training in the common schools of
Hartford, Wisconsin. In 1876 he purchased a
small farm in Dodge county, that state, and in-
itiated his independent career as a husbandman.
As he himself has stated the case, he "farmed the
same two years, among stumps, stones and
gravelly hills, the land being high-priced at
that." His experience in this connection doubt-
less accounts in no small measure for his marked
appreciation of the superior advantages found in
his present location. In the fall of 1878 Mr.
Snyder disposed of his farm in Wisconsin and
moved westward into Alinncsota, locating in
Freeborn county, where he purchased a small
farm, to wdiose improvement and cultivation he
devoted his attention for the ensuing seven
■\-ears, disposing of the property in 1885 and
coming thence to what is now Spink county.
South Dakota, his financial resources at the time
being represented in ~the sum of about two
thousand dollars. Apropos of this statement we
may say that his estate at the present time may
be conservatively placed at a valuation of twenty
thousand dollars, and the significance of the com-
parative statements is prima facia. Shortly
after his arrival in the county Mr. Snyder pur-
chased a quarter section of land in Mellette
township, one mile southwest of the present vil-
lage of Mellette, and this has ever since been his
place of residence, while as success has crowned
his efforts he has added to his landed possessions
from time to time until he is now the owner of
a valuable ranch of six hundred acres, while the
permanent improvements are of excellent order,
everything about the place betokening thrift and
prosperity, while it may be stated that Mr. Sny-
der is recognized as an able business man and
as one who is well entitled to unequivocal con-
fidence and esteem. To the writer he spoke most
pertinently as follows, the words well indicating
his attitude : "I intend to remain here, and. all
io6o
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
things considered, believe this part of the Jim
river valley the best agricultural region in the
United States." On the place is found an
abundant supply of pure water, the same being
secured from a fine artesian well. In politics
Mr. Snyder has always been a stalwart sup-
porter of the Republican party and its principles,
though he has never sought office of any sort.
Fraternally, he is identified with the Modern
Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of
United Workmen and the Royal Neighbors.
On the gth of October, 1877, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Snyder to Miss Josephine
Dempsey, a daughter of James Dempsey, of
Hartford, Wisconsin, and it is pleasing to note
that the family circle remains unbroken at the
time of this writing, their twelve children all
lieing still beneath the home roof, while eight
of the number were born on the homestead here.
The names of the children are here entered in
order of birth : Frank, Harry, ]\Iattie. Helen,
Frederick, Lois, ]\Iary and Howard (twins),
Carl, Frances, and \^'illard and Wilburt (twins).
JOHN H. LeAIAY, editor and publisher of
the Xorthville Journal, at Northville, Spink
county, is a native of the city of Philadelphia,
where he was born on the 27th of January, 1870,
being a son of Edward F. and Nellie (Robert-
son) LeMay, the former of whom was born in
France and the latter in Scotland and both of
whom have now passed away. The father of
the subject came to America as a young man,
and established his home in Philadelphia, while
he became a prominent contractor in the con-
struction of railways and bridges. The subject
secured his early educational discipline in the
fair old "City of Brotherly Love," and there-
after completed a course of study in the Shattuck
]\Iilitary Academy, at Faribault, Minnesota. At
the age of sixteen years he entered upon an ap-
prenticeship at the printer's trade, working dur-
ing vacations for several years in Duluth, that
state, gaining an excellent knowledge of the de-
tails and mysteries of the "art preservative of all
arts," and thereafter he was engaged in the work
of his trade in divers sections of the union, liav-
ing come to South Dakota in i8g6, while in
April, 1900, he settled in Northville and pur-
chased the Northville Journal, of which he has
since been editor and publisher. The Journal is
a five-column quarto and is issued on Thursday
of each week, while both editorially and in mat-
ter of letter-press it is an attractive publication,
while it so fully covers matters of local interest
that it is a welcome visitor in the majority of
the best homes in this section. In politics, Mr.
Le]\Iay is a stanch advocate of the principles and
policies of the Republican party, and his paper
is the medium through which he wields the
greatest influence in local afifairs of a public
nature, while he is thoroughly progressive in his
attitude and always ready to lend his aid and in-
fluence in the furthering of worthy enterprises
for the general good. He is a member of the
South Dakota Press Association. He has at-
tained to the thirty-second degree of Scottish-
Rite Masonry, being a member of the consistorv'
at Aberdeen, and is also a member of the Order
of the Eastern Star, as well as of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen. He enjoys un-
qualified esteem in business and social circles and
is one of the ]iopular young men of Spink
county.
On the 1st of May, 1902, Mr. LeMay was
married to Miss Miry Elsom, who was born
and reared in Northville, being a daughter of
Toseph Elsom, concerning whom a specific
sketch appears on another page of this work.
On February 8, 1904, a son was born to this
RUDOLPH ALEXANDER was born in
Gemiany, on the 20th of April, 1849, and is the
third in order of birth of the eight children of
William and Mary Alexander, while all of the
children are still living. The parents of the
subject bade adieu to their fatherland and emi-
grated with their children to America, taking up
their abode in Sauk county, Wisconsin, where
the father engaged in agricultural pursuits, re-
claiming a good farm and being one of the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
sterling pioneers of that section of the Badger
state, where both he and liis wife passed the re-
mainder of their lives. Their eldest son, Rich-
ard, was about nineteen years of age at the out-
break of the war of the Rebellion, and in 1864
he enlisted as a member of a regiment of Wis-
consin volunteers, and served until the close of
the war. Though a mere boy at the time, our
subject was desirous of emulating the example of
his brother, but his age prevented his being ac-
cepted as a volunteer. He was reared on the
homestead farm and early began to assist in re-
claiming and cultivating the land, while his edu-
cational advantages were such as were afiforded
in the somewhat primitive schools of the lo-
cality and period. After leaving school he re-
mained on the home farm some time and later
engaged in farming on his own responsibility,
in Sauk county, where he continued to reside
until 1882, when he came to South Dakota,
arriving in March of that year and visiting
various sections of the prospective state
in search of a suitable location. The following
summer he took up his residence in Faulk
county, whose organization had been effected
but a short time previously, and here took up
a pre-emption claim near the present village of
Rockham, and there continued to reside about
twelve years, bringing his farm imder cultivation
and meeting with excellent success on the whole,
though he met with the misfortunes entailed
throughout this section by droughts and grass-
hoppers in the earlier years. In 1895 he dis-
posed of his property and purchased a portion
of his present fine ranch of Frank Bacon. He
has since added to its area by additional pur-
chases in the locality until he now has a landed
estate of one thousand acres, of which a very
considerable portion is under a high state of
cultivation while the remainder is used for
grazing purposes, as he runs an average herd of
about two hundred head of Durham and short-
horn cattle, while of late he is giving attention
also to the raising of the Hereford breed. His
ranch adjoins the corporate limits of iMiranda
on the north and he also owns considerable real
estate in the village, while his residence is one
of the finest in the county and his ranch build-
ing large and substantial, affording ample ac-
commodations for stock and farm products. As
the line of the Northwestern Railroad is in jux-
taposition to his ranch he has the best of ship-
ping facilities, and he has reason to be proud of
his valuable ranch as well as of the success
which he has attained since casting in his lot
with the people of South Dakota. In politics he
is a stanch advocate of the principles of the
Republican party, though -never a seeker of pub-
lic office, and fraternally he holds membership in
the Knights of the Maccabees.
On the i2th of April, 1877, Mr. Alexander
was married to Miss Mary Trueb, who was
born in Switzerland, where she was reared and
educated, being a daughter of John Trueb, whey
came from Germany to America in 1857 "i""^ be-
caiue a pioneer of Wisconsin. Of the children
of this union we enter the following brief
record : Louis is now associated with his father
in the management of the home ranch ; Annie
is the wife of Henry Metz, of Miranda ; and
Edward. Ella, Edna and Hilbert reiuain at the
parental home.
JCmN J. PRICE, one of the pioneers and
highly esteemed citizens of Faulk countv, is a
native of Wales and a scion of stanch old Welsh
stock. - He was born in Mothvey, Carmarthen-
shire, on the 24th of January, i860, and is a son
of John W. and Guenllein (Joseph) Price, both
of whom were born and reared in the same sec-
tion of southern Wales, where the respective
families have been established from the time
when the "memory of man runneth not to the
contrary." In 1868 his parents immigrated ta
America and settled near Iowa City, Iowa, where
they remained until 1872, when they took up their
residence in Williamsburg, Iowa county, Iowa,
while in 1876 they removed to Jefferson, Greene
county, Iowa, where the father was engaged in
farming until his death, which occurred on the
26th of April. 1003, at the venerable age of
eighty-three years. He was a man of inflexible
integrity, keeping himself "unspotted from the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
world," and living a life of honor and usefulness.
His widow still resides near Jefferson, being sev-
enty-seven years of age at the time of this writ-
ing, in 1904. Tlie subject received his educa-
tional training in the public schools of Iowa, and
continued to be associated with his father in the
conduct of his business affairs until he had at-
tained his legal majority, when he initiated his
independent career. In March, 1883. he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota and filed
entry on the northwest quarter of section 10,
township 120, range 68, in Faulk county,
which original homestead is an integral
portion of his present landed estate. He
surveyed his own land, as onlv a small
portion of the land had been surveyed by the
government at the time, and his residence is lo-
cated on this original claim. He is now the owner
of twelve hundred and eighty acres of most fertile
and productive land, improved with substantial
and attractive buildings, the property being un-
incumbered of debt, while he is also the owner of
a nice residence in the city of Aberdeen, his inten-
tion being to utilize the same as a family home
during the period when his children are to avail
themselves of the educational advantages there
afforded. He devotes his attention to diversified
agriculture and the raising of a high grade of live
stock, and is the owner of two modern steam
threshing machines, which he keeps in active
operation each autumn. In politics he is an un-
compromising Republican, and he has served two
terms as county commissioner, being chairman of
the board for a portion of each term. He is iden-
tified with Camp No. 2692, Modern Woodmen of
America, at Ipswich, in which he carries an insur-
ance of three thousand dollars.
Oh the 8th of June, 1888, ^Ir. Price was
imited in marriage to Miss Lotta M. Scott, who
was born in Manchester, Iowa, on the 14th of
August, 1867, being a daughter of Thomas B.
and Emma (Pratt) Scott. Mr. and Mrs. Price
Tiave five children, whose names and respective
dates of birth are here entered : Joseph. August
29, 1889 : Florence. August 30, 1891 ; Howard.
October 13, 1893 ; Marie, October 8, 1895. ^^'^'^
Forrest, August 7, 1898.
WILLIAM T. DALE, a prominent and well-
known citizen of Mellette, Spink county, was
born in Daleville, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania,
on the 6th of January, 1840, and is a son of Mark
Dale, who was a native of England, whence he
came when young to Ainerica. in company with
his parents, who located in Pennsylvania, and en-
gaged in farming. The father of the subject also
continued to follow the great basic industry of
farming during his active life and his death oc-
curred in Pennsylvania. He was a man of ex-
alted integrity of character and a prominent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in
which he was a licensed exhorter. He was twice
married and the subject of this review was the
eldest child of the first union. William T. Dale
was reared on the farm and his early educational
advantages were such as were afforded in the
common schools of his native county. At the
age of thirteen years he set out to see somewhat
of the world, coming west to Illinois, where he
remained three years, after which he returned
to his home in the old Keystone state, where he
worked for his father for a }'ear, and then went
to Salem, that state, being employed there until
the fall of t86o. He then went to the pineries
of Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, and worked
at lumbering until spring, then going down the
river on a lumber raft to Marietta, that state.
On the 2ist of May, 1861, he tendered his services
in defense of the L^nion, practically being in the
Federal army throughout the entire period of the
great Civil war. He enlisted in Companv K,
Fifteenth Pennsylvania ^^oluntee^ Infantrv-, for a
term of three months. D. H. Hastings being cap-
tain of his company. I\Ir. Dale took part in the
battle of Falling Waters and was with General
Patterson when he crossed the Potomac. He re-
ceived his honorable discharge on the 7th of .Au-
gust, 1 86 1, and on the T7th of the following
September re-enlisted, at this time becoming a
member of Company L. Ninth Pennsylvania \"ol-
unteer Cavalry, in which he was made commis-
sary sergeant of his company, which was in com-
mand of Captain George Smith. His regiment
was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland,
and in the connection he was a [larticipant in the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1063
battles of Perryville, Thompson Station, Brent-
wood, second battle of Franklin, Triune, Shelby-
ville, Lafayette (Georgia), the three days' fight
at Ciiickamauga ; the engagement at Mossy
Creek, the two battles at Fairgarden, and the
conflict at Cripple Creek, after which he was
with Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and on
the memorable march to the sea, taking part in
the engagements at Black river and Goldsboro.
He received his second discharge on the 31st of
December, 1863, but promptly veteranized and
re-enlisted in the same company and regiment.
April 14th the regiment started home. Mr. Dale
received a veteran's furlough on April 26th at
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and arrived in Dan-
ville on the 28th. On May 22d following he was
married to Susan Snover, to whom he had been
engaged at the time of his enlistment in i86t.
(^)n }i[ay 26th he rejoined his regiment, with
which he continued in active service until the
close of the war. receiving his final discharge
on the i8th of July, 1865. He then returned to
Pennsylvania, and in the same year removed
with his wife to Iowa, locating in Independence,
where he continued to reside for the ensuing fif-
teen years, being there engaged in the manufac-
turing of wagons, making and losing ten thou-
sand dollars.
On the 20th of May, 1881, Mr. Dale made
his advent in what is now the town of Mellette.
South Dakota, with a strong heart and light
purse to start life anew, being the first settler,
and in the following fall, October 4th, he here
opened a grocery store, the only store within
ten miles, which he conducted until January.
1883, when he sold out his groceries and put in a
stock of hardware, in which line he has ever since
continued, now having a commodious and well-
equipped store and warehouse, and carrying a full
line of heavy and shelf hardware, tinware, stoves,
etc., as well as agricultural implements and ma-
chinery. He has the unqualified confidence and
esteem of the people of the community and thus
hf'.s his business prosperity established on a firm
foundation, controlling a large and representative
trade. It was not until about two months after
his settling here that another resident came tn
the little frontier village which was represented
by only one or two buildings at that time. In
December, 1881, J\Ir. Dale was appointed post-
master of the place, and has ever since served
in this capacity save for an interim of four years,
during the second administration of President
Cleveland. He has taken a most prominent part
in the development and civic progress of the vil-
lage and county, and is one of their most hon-
ored and popular citizens. He is identified with
the Grand Army of the Republic and the Ma-
sonic fraternity, besides a number of insurance
fraternities, and in politics he is a stalwart ad-
vocate of the principles and policies of the Re-
publican party. He is treasurer of the Old Set-
tlers' Association of Spink county and takes an
active interest in its affairs.
In Pennsylvania, on the 22d of May, 1864.
was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Dale to Miss
Susan Snover. who was born and reared in
Wayne county, that state, and of their children
we record that Mark died at the age of twenty-
seven years ; Lucy is the wife of J. L. Mead, the
subject's partner in the hardware store and busi-
ness ; and Bertha remains beneath the parental
roof. The family are all members of the Episco-
pal church and Mr., Dale was for a number of
years one of the vestry of the St. James church
at Independence, Iowa, although he never united
with the church but took an active interest in its
welfare and supported it in every way possible.
JOEL WHITNEY GOFF, A. M.. who oc-
cupies the chair of English in the South Dakota
State Normal School at Madison, is a native of
the old Pine Tree state and a scion of families
early settled in New England, where was cradled
so much of our national history. He was born
on a farm near Sangerville, Piscataquis county.
Maine, on the i6th of October, 1861, being a son
of Edward and Elizabeth (Spaulding) Gofif. the
former a farmer and lumberman by occupation.
Professor Goff has but meager data of absolutely
authentic order as applying to the remote gene-
alogy, but it is known that the ancestry in the ag-
natic line was of English and Irish extraction.
1064
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
while on the maternal side the lineage is traced
to Scotch and English forbears. The paternal
ancestors came to the new world in the early
colonial epoch and settled in New Hampshire and
Maine, while representatives of the name were
valiant soldiers in the Continental line during the
war of the Revolution. Many followed a sea-
faring life, and records extant indicate that for
several generations the love of travel, and partic-
ularly of the sea, was strongly evidenced by the
sturdy men of this stock. The parents of the
subject are now dead. To them were born three
children, of whom all are still living.
The early educational advantages enjoyed by
the subject were such as were afforded in the
public schools of Sangerville, Maine, after leav-
ing which he continued his studies for one year in
Foxcroft Academy, at Foxcroft, that state. La-
ter he was for two years a student in the Maine
Central Institute, at Pittsfield. being there grad-
uated as a member of the class of 1882. In 1882
he was matriculated in Bates College, at Lewis-
ton, where he completed the classical course, being
graduated in June, 1886, with the degree of Bach-
elor of Arts, while in i88g his alma mater con-
ferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts.
It may be said that Professor Gofif passed his
boyhood and early youth on the parental farm-
stead, three miles distant from the village of
Sangerville, and he early became imbued with
a distaste for the drudgery of farm life, while
he was equally appreciative of the value of an
education and had the self-reliance and determin-
ation to carry him forward to the coveted goal.
Through the generous sacrifice of his parents he
was enabled to prepare himself for college, and
thereafter certain frienrls of the young man
had sufficient confidence in him to advance the
funds requisite to supplement his own earnings
to a sufficient degree to enable him to complete
his collegiate course. He labored zealously to
attain the desired end, teaching school during the
winter terms and working on farms during the
summer vacations. After his graduation Pro-
fessor Goff forthwith turned his attention to
teaching, finding this the most expedient method
of earning the money with which to discharge
his indebtedness and being also animated with a
distinctive love of the work. During the first
year after his graduation he held the position of
principal of Monmouth Academy, at Monmouth,
Maine, and at the end of the school year he made
a trip to South Dakota, for the purpose of rec-
reation and in order to see what he could of the
great west. The greater portion of the time was
given to the study of law and the next year he
accepted the principalship of the Anson Academy,
at North Anson, ]\Iaine. At the end of the year
he was elected to his present position as profes-
sor of English in the South Dakota State Normal
School, and he has thus been identified with the
institution in this capacity for the past fifteen
vears, contributing materially to the prestige of
the school and to the advancement of its interests
and the efficiency of its work, while he is held in
aflfectionate regard by the many students who
have been trained under his able direction. Pro-
fessor Goff has an attractive home in Madison
and is also the owner of valuable farming land
in Lake county. In politics he has ever been a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Repub-
lican party, and while he has never sought or
desired official preferment he has been an active
worker in the party cause, having served for
several years as ciiairman of the Republican cen-
tral committee of Lake county, while he also rep-
resented the county on the state central commit-
tee for two years. He is liberal in his religious
views and is not formally identified with any
church organizations, his opinions being essen-
tially in harmony with the basic tenets of the Uni-
tarian church. The Professor was initiated into
the time-honored Masonic fraternity in the spring
of 1887, when he became an entered apprentice
in Monmouth Lodge, No. no. Free and Accepted
Masons, at Monmouth, Maine, in which he was
passed to the degree of fellowcraft, after which
he was duly raised to the Master's degree and
with which he is still affiliated. He has advanced
through the various grades and attained the thir-
ty-second degree of Scottish Rite IMasonry, be-
ing identified with Oriental Consistory, in the
city of Yankton.
On the 22d of June. 1892, Professor Goff
HISTORY OK SOUTH DAKOTA.
1065
was united in marriage to Miss Frances Shaw,
who was born near Cresco, Howard county,
Iowa, being a daughter of James and Ella Em-
mons Shaw, who are now residents of Madison,
South Dakota. Mrs. GofiE was a pupil in the
State Normal School, where she was graduated
as a member of the class of 1890, and while
there she formed the acquaintance of her future
husband, who was one of her instructors. Prior
to her marriage she was for one year a teacher
in the public schools at DeSmet, this state, and
one year in her alma mater, the normal school.
Professor and Mrs. Goff have three children,
namely : Charles Sheldon, who was born on the
5th of June, 1894; Margaret, born February i,
1897; and Edward Shaw, February 2, 1901.
Our subject is quite frequently called upon
to deliver public addresses on educational and
other topics and to thus appear before various
organizations. In the spring of 1903 he was se-
lected as one of the three judges of delivery at
the annual meeting of the Northern Oratorical
League, held in the city of Minneapolis, this
league comprising the great universities of the
central and northwestern states, including Chi-
cago University, the Northwestern, the Iowa,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Oberlin
College.
WILLIAM B. VALENTINE comes of
stanch English stock and is a native of the city
of Buffalo, New York, where he was born on
the 31st of March, 1836, being one of the eight
children of George and Anna (Mee) Valentine,
while all except one are yet living. Eliza is a
widow and resides in Cincinnati, Ohio; Sarah is
the wife of John M. Cooper, of St. Louis, Mis-
souri ; William B. is the subject of this sketch;
Elizabeth, a maiden lady, resides in St. Louis, as
does also Lucy, who is the wife of William N.
Graves; Albert is engaged in building and con-
tracting in Tuscola county, Michigan ; ' and
Helen is the wife of Byron Bailey, of Cincin-
nati. The parents were both born in Boston,
England, whence they came to America with
their respective parents when they were children,
both having been reared and educated in Buffalo,
New York, where their marriage was solem-
nized. John Valentine, grandfather of the sub-
ject, was a man of means and became an in-
fluential and prominent citizen of Buffalo, where
both he and his wife died. John Valentine learned
the trade of mason in his native city and was a
man of marked intellectuality and business
ability. He was engaged in contracting and
building in Buffalo until 1867, when he removed
to Michigan, locating in Bay City, which was
then a village of two or three thousand, and
there he continued to reside about five years, at
the expiration of which he removed to Fair
Grove, Tuscola county, that state, where he con-
tinued to make his home until his death, which
occurred in 1886, at which time he had attained
the venerable age of eighty years. In politics he
was originally an old-line Whig, but upon the
organization of the Republican party he espoused
its cause and ever afterward remained a stalwart
adherent of the same, taking an active part in
forwarding the party interests but never aspir-
ing to official preferment. His religious faith
was that of the Adventists and he afterward be-
came a Baptist. His first wife, the mother of
the subject, died in 1849, and he later married
Mrs. Ann Dove, no children being born of this
union.
William B. Valentine, whose name initiates
this sketch, was reared to maturity in Buffalo,
New York, and received his educational training
m the common schools, while in his youth he
learned the trade of mason under the effective
direction of his father and became a skilled and
able contractor and builder. Upon attaining
maturity he; left the parental roof and went to
Ohio, where he remained one season, being en-
gaged in the work of his trade. He then re-
turned home, where he remained for a short
time and then took up his residence in Flint,
Michigan, where he engaged in contracting and
building, to which important line of enterprise
he has ever since given his undivided attention,
having had to do with the construction of many
large structures of both public and private order
and having been long recognized as one of the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
leading contracting builders of South Dakota.
He remained in Flint about four years and then
went to Bay City, where he continued in his
chosen vocation about eight years, having
erected the first brick building in that now at-
tractive and populous city, where he continued to
make his home until 1870, when he came to
Yankton as one of the pioneers in his line, and
here he erected the first brick building to be put
up in the place, while it may be said without
fear of contradiction that he has erected more
than one-half of the principal buildings in the
city. In politics Mr. Valentine is a stalwart ad-
vocate of the principles of the Republican party,
and he served for six years as a member of
the board of county commissioners, while for
four years he was a member of the city council,
in each of which incumbencies his efforts and
advice proved of marked value and met with
appreciative approval. He also was for one year
a member of the board of trustees of the state
hospital for the insane, which is located in his
home city. Mr. Valentine is not formally
identified with anv religious organization, but
his family are members of the Congregational
church.
On the loth of November, 1863, Mr. Valen-
tine was united in marriage to Miss Elfrida E.
Mathias, who was born in Woolwich, England,
and of this union have been born four children,
namely : Florence E., who remains at the par-
ental home ; Gipsy E., who is the wife of Leon
J. Potter, of Chicago, Illinois; Dr. Everett M.,
who is a practicing dentist of Yankton ; and
Oiarles H. A., who is a successful contractor
and builder of Phoenix, Arizona.
REV. HENRY KIMBALL WARREN, M.
A., LL.D., president of Yankton College and
known as one of the leading educators of the
state, was born in Cresco, Howard county, Iowa,
on the 31st of May, 1858, being a son of Chaun-
cey J. and Mary A. (Kimball) Warren, whose
two other children arc Alice M., who is the wife
of Rev. Arthur H. Claflin, of Allegheny, Penn-
sylvania, and Harriet L., who is the wife of Wil-
liam H. Davisson, assistant chief engineer of the
Rock Island Railroad, with headquarters in the
city of Chicago. Chauncey J. Warren was born
in Watertown, New York, on the ist of August,
1 83 1, and when he was about seven years of age
his parents removed to northern Indiana, becom-
ing pioneers of that section, where his father de-
veloped a farm in the midst of the forest wilds.
Thus the father of the subject was reared under
the conditions of the pioneer epoch, implying
that his educational advantages were somewhat
limited in scope and that a full quota of arduous
labor fell to his portion in his youthful days.
After his marriage he removed to Cresco, How-
ard county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming.
He there continued to reside until 1861. when he
returned to Middlebury, Elkhart county, Indiana,
and purchased his father's old homestead farm,
to whose cultivation he gave his attention until
1865, when he disposed of the property and re-
moved to Ionia county, ?ilichigan, purchasing a
farm near the village of Portland, where he con-
tinued in agricultural pursuits until 1872, when
he took up his residence in the village, where he
engaged in the operation of saw and planing
mills and in the manufacture of the products in-
cidental to the same. At the present time he is
devoting his attention to the manufacture of an
improved type of washing machines, still retain-
ing his residence in Portland. In politics he is
a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party, and he and his wife are
both earnest and active members of the Congre-
gational church.
Henry K. Warren, the immediate subject of
this sketch, acquired his early education in the
public schools, completing a course in the high
school at Portland, Michigan. In 1876 he was
matriculated in Olivet College, at Olivet, that
state, where he was graduated in the spring of
1882, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
while three years later his alma mater conferred
upon him the Master's degree. After his gradu-
ation Dr. Warren turned his attention to the ped-
agogic profession, in which his work during the
intervening years has been attended with most
gratifying success. He was ordained a clergy-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1067
man of the Congregational church at Neligh, Ne-
braska, in the year 1893, and the degree of Doc-
tor of Laws was conferred upon him by OHvet
College, in 1902. The Doctor was principal of
the public schools at Mount Pleasant. Isabella
county, Michigan, during the years 1882-3, and
from the latter year until 1889 he held the posi-
tion of superintendent of the public schools of
Hannibal, Missouri. He was then called to the
presidency of Gates College, at Neligh, Ne-
braska, retaining this incumbency until 1894, and
for the ensuing year he was president of Salt
Lake College, at Salt Lake City, Utah. He re-
signed this position in 1895 to accept his pres-
ent incumbency as president of Yankton College,
while his labors here have been such as to add
further to his high reputation as an able and dis-
criminating educator, the college having been
eminently prosperous during his administration.
In politics the Doctor is a Republican, taking a
lively interest in the issues of the day, and fra-
ternally he is a member of Yankton Lodge, No.
loi, Ancient Order of LTnited Workmen.
On the 25th of December, 1883, was solem-
nized the marriage of Dr. Warren to Miss Lillian
Hamilton, of Sturgis, Michigan, and they are the
parents of three children, Howard H., Ruth K.
and Robert H., all of whom remain at the pa-
rental home, which is a center of gracious and
refined hospitality.
F. D. WYMx\N is the scion of one of the
oldest families in the United States, the history
of his ancestry being traceable m an unbroken
line to Lieutenant John Weyman (as the name
was originally spelled), a tanner by trade, the
date of whose marriage, in November, 1644,
appears on the old official records of Middlesex
county, Massachusetts, preserved in the archives
of Woburn, that state. Of the preceding history
of this ancestor nothing definite is known, but
from the most reliable infonnation obtainable
he subsequently appears to have been a man of
considerable consequence in his community, and,
from his title, to have been connected with the
early military service of the colony. Among his
immediate descendants was a son by the name of
Jacob, who also became a tanner and who
spent his life in his native town of Woburn. A
son of Jacob Weyman, also Jacob by name, was
born at the above place, September 11, 1688,
but of him little is known beyond the fact of his
having married, and reared sons and daughters,
one of the former being Daniel, who for a num-
ber of years operated a saddlery shop at Sud-
bury, Massachusetts, and who afterwards served
from 1757 to 1759, inclusive, as a sergeant in the
French and Indian war. His son, Daniel, Jr.,
born at Sudbury, was a millwright and builder,
also a soldier, having joined the American army
at the age of nineteen and taken part in Arnold's
ill-starred invasion of Canada, during the early
part of the Revolution. This Daniel married
and reared a family, among his sons being one
who was also given the name of Daniel, and who,
like his father, became a millwright and builder
Joseph Weyman, son of the third Daniel, was a
soldier in the war of 181 2, and for a livelihood
followed the same pursuits as did his father and
grandfather before him, working at his trades
for a number of years in Schoharie, New York.
David Weyman, son of Joseph, and father of
the subject of this review, was born in New
York, removed with his parents when a child to
Crown Point, that state, and, when a y-oung man,
took up the trades to which h's ancestors had for
so long a period devoted their attention, to-wit,
building and equipping of mills. He followed
his chosen calling in his native state until about
the year 1844, when he removed to Walworth
county, Wisconsin, where in addition to the
manufacttire of flour he carried on farming.
Subsequently, 1865, he disposed of his interests
in Walworth county, and took up his residence
in Schuyler county, Missouri, where he devoted
his attention chiefly to agricultural pursuits, until
his death, which occurred on the 21st day of
January, 1 871. He was a man of intelligence
and good judgment, successful in his business
affairs and a most estimable citizen. In politics
he was a Republican and an active party worker
and in religion he subscribed to the Baptist faith
and for manv vears was an earnest and sincere
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
member of the church. The maiden name of
]\Irs. David W'eyman was Betsy M. Braley ; she
bore her husband eight children, the following
being the living representatives of the family :
Mrs. Hickox, of Ocola, Iowa; F. D., of this
review; Mrs. Adelia Murphy, of Frederick,
Kansas, and J. Henry, who lives at St. Charles,
Iowa.
F. D. WATiian was born in Essex county,
New York, on the 14th of June, 1841. He en-
joyed the advantages of a common-school edu-
cation, and after remaining with his parents until
nineteen years of age, severed home ties and
taught for one year at Byron, Illinois. He then
worked his way as far as Des Moines, Iowa,
supporting himself and paying his e>^penses by
teaching vocal music at his various stopping
places, and to this manner of life he gave his
attention until the breaking out of the great
Civil war, when he tendered his services to his
country in its time of need. In August, 1861,
he enlisted in Company K, Eighth Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, with which he bravely and
honorably served until August, 1865, a period
of three years, during which time he took part
in some of the most celebrated campaigns of the
rebellion, participating in thirty-three battles,
among the more notable of which were Fort
Donelson, Shiloh, the two engagements at Cor-
inth, the various battles of the Red River ex-
pedition, siege of Vicksburg, Chattanooga,
Nashville, Tuscumbia, luka and many others, to
say nothing of skirmishes and minor engage-
ments. The regiment to which Mr. Wyman be-
longed gained a national reputation on account
of the live eagle, "Old Abe," which was carried
at his head during the war, and which, stuffed,
has since been preserved as an interesting and
priceless war relic in the state house at Madi-
son, Wisconsin.
Mr. Wyman was mustered out of the service
at Uniontown, Alabama, but, unlike the great
majority of his comrades and Union soldiers gen-
erally, he did not return home, choosing rather
to remain in the south, where he felt convinced
money could be made raising cotton, for which
there was such a great demand immediatelv fol-
lowing the war. Locating in Perry county, Ala-
bama, he at once engaged in cotton culture, and
in addition thereto soon became interested in
the public affairs of that section of the state. He
had a varied and interesting experience, and dur-
ing his six years' residence in the south was
honored with several important official positions,
in all of which he acquitted himself worthily
and won the esteem and confidence of the peo-
ple. He served two years in the state senate,
where he made a creditable record, and was also
elected superintendent of the Perry county pub-,
lie schools. While serving in the latter capacity,
he organized the local educational system, in-
troduced many reforms and valuable modern in-
novations, secured teachers of recognized pro-
fessional ability from the north, and before the
expiration of his term placed the schools upon
the solid and successful basis which they have
ever since enjoyed. Mr. Wyman also held the
office of revenue assessor while a resident of
Alabama, discharging the duties of the same
about two years, and for the same length of time
served as sheriff of Perry county, resigning the
latter position in 1 871, when he moved to Schuy-
ler county, Missouri. After living about two
and a half years in the latter state, Mr. Wyman,
in the fall of 1873, came to South Dakota, bring-
ing with him a herd of horses for the Yankton
market. Choosing this city for his permanent
location, he at once began buying and shipping
live stock on quite an extensive scale, and in
connection therewith also opened a meat market
which soon became the leading establishment of
the kind in the place. To him belongs the credit
of shipping the first carload of cattle that ever
left Yankton by rail and he has since followed
the business with a large measure of success
financially, being still engaged in the handling of
live stock of all kinds, also running a meat
market, the patronage of which has steadily in-
creased with the city's growth. In addition to
the enterprises noted, he has large agricultural
interests in the vicinity of Yankton.
Mr. Wyman has been an unswerving suppor-
ter of the Republican party ever since old enougli
to exercise the right of franchise, and it was in
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1069
recognition of his valuable services as an organ-
izer, manager and leader as well as by reason of
his personal qualifications, that he was honored
with the several official positions referred to in
preceding paragraphs. In September, 1898, he
was appointed steward of the State Hospital for
tlie Insane at Yankton and held the office for one
year, when a change of administration caused
his removal with that of others connecteil with
the institution. Subsequently, however, in the
spring of 1901, he was reappointed to the same
position, and since that time has attended closely
to his line of dut\', his official course being
straightforward, business-like, eminently hon-
orable, and above the slightest suspicion of any-
thing savoring of disrepute. In 1886 Mr. Wy-
man was elected sheriff of Yankton county and
served as such for a period of six years, having
been twice chosen his own successor. In 1894 he
was sent to the general assembly and served dur-
ing the exciting session of that year, taking an
active part in all the deliberations of the body,
working on important committees, besides intro-
ducing bills which, becoming laws, have had a
decided influence in promoting the interests of
the state. He fs a member of Phil Kearney
Post, No. 2,y. Grand Army of the Republic, also
belonging to the Knights of Pythias and the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America.
While a resident of the south. Mr. Wyman,
in 1866, married a cultured southern lady by the
name of Miss Mattie C. Robertson, a representa-
tive of an old and popular family of Uniontown,
Alabama. To this marriage six children have
been born, only three of whom are living,
namely: Mattie M., wife of F. A. Klopping, of
Yankton ; Albert Lee, a prominent attorney of
the same city, and Lute A., who is engaged in
buying and shipping stock at this point.
ELIJAH P. FOWLER is a native of New
York, born in the city of Rochester, September
25, 1844. He spent about eight' years of his
bovhood in Massachusetts, where he attended
school, and he also pursued his studies for some
time in the state of his birth, remaining in the
latter until entering the army as a member of
the Fourth New York Artillery, in the year
1863. He shared with his comrades the vicissi-
tudes of war in the Virginia campaigns, under
General Hancock, and participated in a number
of hard-fought battles and minor engagements,
serving with an honorable record until the sur-
render of the Confederacy, at Appomattox. Mr.
Fowler was mustered out at Washington City
in 1865, and after spending several months at
home went the following spring to Virginia City,
Montana, near which place he devoted his at-
tention to prospecting and mining until 1873,
meeting with varied success the meantime. In
the latter >'ear he went to Nevada, after
which spending about eight months in the
Eureka and other mining camps, traveled
over different parts of the country until 1875,
when he returned to New York and engaged in
the nursery business about five miles from his
native city of Rochester.
After a brief experience in that industry Mr.
Fowler again became animated by a strong de-
sire to go west ; accordingly in the spring of the
following year he disposed of his nursery in-
terest and went to Nevada, thence after a brief
period to California, and from the latter state
came to the Black Hills, in the early part of
1877, ^"d engaged in prospecting in the vicinity
of Deadwood. Two years later he went to Min-
nesota and purchased cattle, which he drove
through to the Belle Fourche river, where
he began his career in the live-stock busi-
ness and in which locality he prosecuted
the enterprise with very encouraging success
for a considerable length of time. Later
he bought cattle in Texas, but in the winter of
1886-7 suffered quite heavy loss on account of
the death of a large number of his animals, also
encountered severe financial embarrassment the
following spring in the destruction of a large
part of his property in Central City, by fire.
In the winter of 1887, shortly after the lay-
ing out of Whitewood, Mr. Fowler bought land
adjoining the town site, which he surveyed into
lots and made an addition to the original plat.
With the growth of the town these lots found
1070
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ready purchasers, and from their sale he realized
handsome profits on the original investment.
The following year he opened a general store in
the new town and within a comparatively short
time was at the head of a large and profitable
business which he continued with encouraging
success until September, 1902, when he sold out
his establishment, at that time being the principal
mercantile house in the place. After his severe
financial reverses in 1887, ]\Ir. Fowler discon-
tinued the live-stock business for several years,
but in 1899 he again engaged in cattle raising,
running his herds during the several years fol-
lowing at Slim Buttes, Butte county. Later,
however, he disposed of his live stock and turned
his attention to other pursuits, principally real
estate, in which he still deals quite extensively,
owning at this time large and valuable tracts of
grazing and farm lands in the vicinity of White-
wood, also desirable lots in the town, besides
private property of no small magnitude. Mr.
Fowler owns one of the finest residences in
Whitewood and has spared no reasonable ex-
pense in beautifying and adorning the same. Be-
lieving in using good things of this world to
enhance comfort and happiness, he has supplied
his place with modern conveniences and many of
the lu.xuries of life, thus providing liberally for
those dependent upon him and making his home
noted for the hospitality which pervades its pre-
cincts.
Mr. Fowler is an earnest supporter of the
Republican party, and wields a strong influence
in political circles; he was elected in 1890 and
re-elected in 1892, to represent Lawrence county
in the general assembly. His record as a legis-
lator is an honorable one, as he labored faith-
fully for the good of his constituency and for
the best interests of the state. Fraternally, he is
identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, aside from which he gives counte-
nance and support to charities and benevolence, is-
respective of name or order.
Mr. Fowler, on August 23, 1880, was mar-
ried, in Central City, to Miss Augusta Larsen,
who has borne him seven children, viz: Mabel,
Arthur G., Elmer P., Emmit Willis, Walter E.,
Lester and Cora A., all living but Cora and
Arthur. The last named departed this life on
the 13th of May, 1903, at the age of twenty
years. Cora was the oldest, being born May
23, 1881, and died August 23, 1883.
JACOB P. RESNER, cashier of the bank
of Scotland, Bon Homme county, was
born in Plotzk, South Russia, on the 14th
of March. 1863, being a son of Andrew
and Anna ^l. (Lyer) Resner, of whose
two children he is the elder, the other
being Dr. Andrew K., who is a successful practic-
ing physician at Planning, Iowa. The father
of the subject was a native of Wurtemberg, Ger-
many, where he was reared to the life of a farmer,
continuing to there devote his attention to this
great basic industry until 1877, when he emi-
grated with his family to the United States,
spending a short interval in the state of Iowa
and thence coming directly to the territory of
Dakota, locating in Hutchinson county, where
he entered claim to three quarter sections of land,
under the homestead, pre-emption and tree-cul-
ture acts, respectively, and here he has ever since
continued to make his home, having improved
his land and placed it under a high state of culti-
vation and having thus contributed to the devel-
opment of the resources of the great state of
South Dakota. He has been successful in his la-
bors and is now one of the representative and
substantial citizens of Hutchinson county. He
is a Republican in politics antl has held various
local offices of public trust, ever retaining the
confidence of his fellow men. His devoted and
cherished wife died in the fatherland, in 1869,
and he later married Miss Caroline Stortz, and
they are the parents of four children, Daniel and
John, who reside in Scotland, Bon Homme
county : Emanuel, who remains at the parental
home; and Mary, who is the wife of L. W.
Hoffman, of the village of Scotland.
Jacob P'. Resner, to whom this sketch is dedi-
cated, was about eight years of age at the time
of ' his father's emigration from Germany to
.•\merica, and he received his education in both
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1071
German and English, having prosecuted his stud-
ies in the pubHc schools of South Dakota after
the family here took up their abode. That he
made good use of the advantages thus accorded
is shown in the fact that he was for three years
successfully engaged in teaching in the district
schools of Hutchinson county prior to his mar-
riage, which occurred in 1885. After his mar-
riage he settled on a quarter section of land in
that county, having secured the same as a pre-
emption claim, proving up on the property after
attaining his legal majority. He made good im-
provements on his farm and devoted his atten-
tion to its cultivation for four years, at the ex-
piration of which he removed to Scotland, in the
adjoining county of Bon Homme, to accept the
position of treasurer and manager of the Farm-
ers' Elevator Company. He retained this incum-
bency two years and then purchased the eleva-
tor of the company, continuing its proprietor
for the ensuing seven years, when he disposed of
the property and became manager of the eleva-
tors here owned by the Spencer Grain Company.
;in important corporation engaged in the hand-
ling of grain throughout this section. He re-
mained with this concern three years, during
which time he was also individually engaged in
the real-estate business, having his office on Main
street in the village of Scotland. He continued
in the real-estate business after severing his con-
nection with the company mentioned and also
accepted a position as manager of the local inter-
ests of Shannerd Brothers, extensive grain buy-
ers of Bridgewater, this state. In August, 1902,
Mr. Resner accepted the position of cashier of the
Bank of Scotland, one of the solid and popular
monetary institutions of this section, and he has
since continued to give most discriminating serv-
ice in this important executive office, gaining to
the bank new prestige and handling its aflfairs
with marked ability and to the entire satisfaction
of its stockholders. Shannerd Brothers were most
reluctant to dispense with his services and finally
prevailed upon Mr. Resner to continue in their
employ as manager of their interests in this sec-
tion, and the details of the business he now as-
signs principally to a deputy, though maintain-
ing a general supervision of all transactions. The
political support of the subject is given in an
unqualified way to the Republican party, of
whose principles he is a stanch advocate, having
been prominent in political affairs in a local way
for a number of years past. He served four
years as a member of the village council and for
the past six years has been a valued member of
the board of education, while for three years he
was incumbent of the office of village assessor
and is in tenure of this office at the time of this
writing. His religious faith is that of the Ger-
man Congregational church, of which both he
and his wife are zealous members, and he is prom-
inently identified with the Masonic fraternity,
being affiliated with Scotland Lodge, No. 52, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Scotland Chapter, No.
31, Royal Arch Masons: Yankton Commandery,
Knights Templar ; and Yankton Consistory, No.
I, of. the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, at
Yankton. He also holds membership in Security
Lodge, No. 48, Knights of Pythias, and Scotland
Camp, No. 977. Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 14th of December, 1885, Mr. Resner
was united in marriage to Miss Christina Red-
mann, of Yankton county, whither her parents
emigrated from Russia in 1873. Of this union
have been born seven children, namely : Edward,
William, Julius. Amerlia. Lydia, Bertha and Ar-
thur.
CHESTER C. TORRENCE is a native of
the state of Iowa, having been born in Jones
county, on the 13th of April, 1873, the fourth
in order of birth of the six children of Adam
C. and Almira J. (Rooney) Torrence. Of. the
children we enter brief record as follows : George
A. is a resident of Bon Homme county and is
associated with our subject in the management
of the old homestead farm and in the cattle busi-
ness ; Cora B. is the wife of Frank Cole, of
York county, Virginia : Nellie M. is deceased ;
Chester C. is the immediate stibject of this
sketch ; David M. is assistant to the subject in
the postoffice ; and Giarles is deceased. Adam
C. Torrence was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
I072
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
on the 27th of August, 1840, and in 1849 ^^^ ac-
companied his parents on their removal to Tama
county, Iowa, where he was reared to manhood,
receivinof a good common-school education. In
1861 he tendered his services in defense of the
Union, enlisting as a private in Company B,
Ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he
proceeded to the front, remaining in the service
three and one-half years, or until the close of
the war, his regiment having served under both
Sherman and Grant, while the history of the
Ninth Iowa is the record of his gallant military
career 'as a true and loyal son of the republic.
After the close of the war he returned to Iowa,
and after his marriage located on a farm in
Jones county, where he continued to reside until
1883, when he came to South Dakota and pur-
chased a farm three miles east of the town of
Bon Homme, in the county of the same name.
In i8g8 he removed to Montana and later to
Idaho, which is now his home, while he is de-
voting his attention to fruit culture. He is a
Republican in politics and both he and his wife
are exemplary members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, while fraternally he is a valued
member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
He is a man of influence in his community but
has never sought the honors of public office of
any order. Elmira J- (Rooney) Torrence was
born in Warren county, Indiana, on the 27th of
September. 1843, and she accompanied her par-
ents on their removal to Jones county, Iowa, in
1850, being there reared and educated, and thus
both the Torrence and Rooncy families are to be
noted as having been pioneers of the favored
state of Iowa.
Chester C. Torrence, whose name initiates
this article, received his early educational train-
ing in the public schools of his native county in
Iowa and was about ten years of age at the time
of the family removal to South Dakota. As
earh^ as his fourteenth year he began to depend
upon his own resources, being a boy of marked
energy and ambition, while his self-reliance
I)rompted him to jirove his mettle, and he worked
on farms or at such other occupations as he
could secure. For nearlv six vears he devoted
his attention to the drilling of artesian wells in
various portions of South Dakota, being suc-
cessful in his efforts and being careful to con-
serve his financial resources. In 1900 he located
in Tabor and engaged in the buying and shipping
of live stock and .grain, in wdiich connection he
has shown much business tact and acumen and
has met with unqualified success. In June,
1901, he was appointed postmaster of the town,
and in 1902 he here established a local telephone
exchange, which he still owns and operates, the
same being of great benefit to the town through
the facilities which it offers. For the past two
years, he has also served as deputy sheriff of
the county, while in politics he is a stanch ad-
vocate of the principles and policies of the Re-
publican party, and fraternally is identified with
Tabor Camp, No. 9087, Modern Woodmen of
America, and Canton Lodge of Home Guard-
ians. He is held in high esteem in the com-
munity and is known as one of the energetic and
progressive young business men of the county.
On the 1st of February, 1903, Mr. Torrence
was united in marriage to Miss H. Emma Cooley.
daughter of Hon J- P. Cooley, of Bon Homme
countv.
ADRIAN L. FISH, the able and popular
clerk of the courts of Bon Homme county, was
born in Adel, Dallas county, Iowa, on the 15th
of November, 1867, being a son of Abner K. and
Margaret E. (Wallace) Fish, of whose five chil-
dren he is the eldest of the four surviving, the
others being as follows : Oliver, who is a resident
of Good Springs, Nevada ; Lillian, who is the
wife of James Farran, of Sioux City, Iowa; and
Alice, who remains at the parental home. Abner
K. Fish was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in
the year 1845, and when he was a boy he accom-
paiiied his parents on their removal to Iowa,
where he was reared to maturity. His father,
Abner H. Fish, was one of the pioneer settlers
of Dallas county, that state, where lie took up
government land and engaged in farming, becom-
ing one of the prominent citizens of that section.
He lived to attain a patriarchal age, having died
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1073
in the home of his son, Peter Fish, in the city of
Chicago, at the age of ninety-eight years, having
been a resident of Chicago about twenty years
prior to his demise. The father of our subject
enlisted for service in the Union army in 1863,
lieing at the time eighteen years of age and go-
ing as a substitute for an elder brother, who had
been drafted. He served until the close of the
Rebellion, under command of General Sherman,
and soon after his return to Iowa he was married,
and he there continued to devote his attention to
agricultural pursuits until 1873, when he came
tn Union county. South Dakota, which was yet
a portion of the undivided territory of Dakota,
and here he purchased a tract of land near Elk
Point, where he continued to be engaged in farm-
ing and stock growing until 1881, when he re-
moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he engaged in
the coal and wood business. In 1891 he removed
thence to Texas county, Missouri, where he has
ever since been engaged in the culture of fruit,
being one of the honored and successful citizens
of that locality. He is a stalwart Republican
in his political proclivities and is a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic.
Adrian L. Fish, whose name initiates this
sketch, secured his preliminary education in the
public schools of his native county, and he then
entered the normal school at LeMars, Iowa,
where he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1889. He later attended the university at Ver-
million, South Dakota, for two years, and in 1890
he took a business course in the University of the
Xorthwest, at Sioux City. Iowa. As early as his
nineteenth year he inaugurated his efforts as a
teacher in the public schools, and through his
efforts in the pedagogic profession he earned the
funds which enabled him to complete his collegi-
ate work. In 1891 he entered the law office of
Carter & Brown, of Sioux City, and under their
preceptorship continued the technical reading of
the law about two years, becoming well grounded
in the principles of the science of jurisprudence.
In the spring of 1892 he came to Tyndall, South
Dakota, and here was associated for one year
with P. W. Smith, in the abstract business. At
the expiration of this time he was appointed dep-
uty register of deeds for Bon Homme county,
in which capacity he rendered most efficient serv-
ice for the ensuing four years, and in 1897 he
was elected to his present responsible and exact-
ing office of clerk of the courts, in which he has
since served consecutively, which fact indicates
the appreciative estimate placed upon his services.
He was elected for a fourth term in the autumn
election of 1902. In politics he accords an un-
faltering allegiance to the Republican party, tak-
ing an active interest in the cause and contribut-
ing to the furtherance of the same in a local way.
His religious faith is that of the Congregational
church, of v/hich his wife likewise is a devoted
member, and fraternally he is identified with
Tyndall Lodge, No. 95, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows ; Istaska Tribe, No. 32, Improved
Order of Red Men : and Tyndall Camp, No. 2463,
Modern Woodmen of America.
Oji the 31st of October, 1892, Mr. Fish was
united in marriage to Miss Alice Benbow, of
Sheldon, Iowa, and of their four children two are
living. Warren D. and Francis F.
JOHN H. SANFORD is the owner of a fine
ranch of six hundred and forty acres in Bon
Homme county, while he maintains his business
headquarters and residence in the attractive town
of Tyndall, the county seat. The state of Illi-
nois figures as the place of his nativity, since he
was born in Ogle county, on the 12th of Decem-
ber, 1847, a son of Tared W. and Henrietta fStur-
gis) Sanford, of whose eight children only three
are living at the present time-'— James W., who is
a resident of Santa Clara county. California;
Sarah, who is the wife of ;\^ron Rood, of Pueblo,
Colorado; and John H., who is the subject of
this sketch. Jared Sanford was born in the state
of Connecticut, where he was reared to the sturdy
discipline of the farm and where his marriage was
solemnized. Some time after thus assuming con-
nubial responsibilities he removed to Ogle countv,
Illinois, where he was engaged in farming until
about 1870, when he removed to Missouri and
later to Dickinson county, Kansas, where he
passed the remainder of his life, his death occur-
1074
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ring in 1876, at which time he was seventy-one
years of age. While his vocation in life was
farming, he had distinctive mechanical ability, and
for a number of years he did much work along
this line, in connection with his agricultural oper-
ations, while he was also a successful stock-
grower, our subject having gained his initial ex-
perience in the breeding of stock under' the ef-
fective direction of his father. Jared Sanford was
a stanch Republican in his political proclivities
and he and his wife were zealous members of the
Congregational church, the latter having entered
into eternal rest in 1854, at the age of forty-five
years.
John H. Sanford was reared to farm life and
secured his early educational discipline in the
public schools, supplementing the same by a
course in F. E. Arnold's business college, at Rock- j
ford. Illinois. On attaining his legal majority he i
came into possession of a valuable farm, of one
hundred acres, the same having been a part of his
father's old homestead in Ogle county, Illinois,
and he devoted his attention to the cultivation
of the same until the time of his marriage, which
occurred on the 30th of December, 1869, when
he led to the hymeneal altar Miss Louisa E.
Stone, the only daughter of Joseph and Mary
Stone, of Ogle county. Illinois, and thereafter he
was associated with his father-in-law in the man-
agement of the latter's farm until 1880, while
for a number of years he was extensively engaged
in the buying and shipping of live stock, in which
line of enterprise he was very successful, gain-
ing a knowledge which has made him one of the
best judges of stock to be found in South Dakota.
In 1880 he came to South Dakota and secured a
quarter section of land in Bon Homme county.
He has since added to his landed estate in the
county until he is now the owner of an entire
section, as previously stated, and though the tract
is valuable farming land he devotes his attention
more specially to the cattle industry, being an
extensive feeder of stock and a breeder of reg-
istered cattle and hogs. He has done much to
improve the grade of stock raised in this section
and his finely improved farm shows some of the
finest specimens of cattle and hogs to be found in
the confines of the state. He is progressive and
discriminating in his methods and has been very
successful in his operations since coming to South
Dakota. In politics he gives his support to the
Republican party, but he has never been an as-
pirant for public office. Fraternally he is identified
with Bon Homme Lodge, No. loi, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons. He and his wife are the parents
of one child, Harry Otis, who is a veterinary
surgeon, being successfully established in the
practice of his profession at Tyndall.
JAMES H. DICKSON, one of the leading
citizens of Scotland, Bon ' Homme county, is a
native of the old Empire state, having been born
on a farm in St. Lawrence county. New York,
on the 4th of September, 1844, a son of John and
Catherine (McGregor) Dickson, both of whom
were born in Scotland, of stanch old Scottish
lineage, while both came to America as children,
their respective parents having emigrated to this
country and taken up their abode in the state of
New York. The father of the subject passed
his entire life in the northern part of that state,
where he was a successful farmer. He passed
away at the age of seventy-four years, having
been a man of prominence and influence in his
section and having held various local offices. He
identified himself with the Republican party at
the time of its organization and ever afterwards
remained a stanch advocate of its principles,
while both he and his wife held membership in
the Presbyterian churcli. the, latter having been
summoned into eternal rest at the age of forty-
two years.
The subject was reared under the invigorat-
ing discipline of the home fami and after avail-
ing himself of such advantages as were afforded
in the common schools of the locality and period
he completed a course of study in the Eastman
Business College, at Poughkeepsie, New York.
He continued to assist in the work and manage-
ment of the home farm until he had attained the
age of twenty-three years, when he \vent to the
town of Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county. New
York, where he engaged in the dry-goods busi-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1075
ness in company with George P. Tait, under the
firm name of Tait & Dickson. This partner-
ship continued about five years, at the expiration
of which tlie subject retired from the firm and
engaged in the merchant-tailoring business in
partnership with James Brodie, under the title
of Brodie & Dickson. Four years later, in 1879,
Mr. Dickson established himself in the same line
of enterprise at Adams, Berkshire county,
Massachusetts, being there a member of the
firm of Dickson & Legate. In 1882 he came to
South Dakota and located in Scotland, Bon
Homme county, where he has ever since main-
tained his home. Here he opened a general
mercantile establishment and engaged also in
the buying of grain and hogs, in each of which
lines of enterprise he built up an excellent busi-
ness within a short interval. Upon the com-
pletion of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
Railroad through this section Mr. Dickson- built
and operated a chain of grain elevators from
Lesterville to Armour and Parkston, while later
he erected a large elevator in Geddes, and
several of these monuments to his enterprising
spirit are still owned and operated by him. He
is a heavy shipper of Iiogs and grain, and in
connection with the latter branch of industry
he handles agricultural implements and coal
in the various towns in which he buys grain.
These statements clearly indicate that he is a
man of affairs and one of marked capacity in
an executive way, but he has proved equal to
meeting all exigencies and is known as a careful,
able and upright business man and as a citizen
of value to the county and state. In 1894 his
mercantile house and stock in Scotland were
entirely destroyed by fire, but a fortnight later
he had installed a new and comprehensive stock
in his present attractive quarters, so that his large
trade suffered but slight interruption.
In politics ]\Ir. Dickson gives an unqualified
allegiance to the Republican party and has been
a prominent figure in its councils in the state,
having been repeatedly a delegate to state and
other conventions, while he has been strongly im-
portuned by his party friends to permit the use
of his name in connection with candidacy for the
state senate, but he has no ambition for official
preferment, realizing that the demands of his
business are exacting and require his undivided
attention and believing that he has discharged
his civic duties in his fforts to promote the cause
of his party and to further the ends of good
governiucnt. He is one of the prominent and
valued members of the Presbyterian church, in
which both he and his wife are zealous workers,
and he has held the ofiice of elder in the church
since the age of twenty-eight years, having
been elected to this office while a resident of
Gouverneur, New York, and having been chosen
incumbent of the same office in Scotland soon
after identifying himself with the church here.
Fraternally he is affiliated with Scotland Camp,
Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 14th of February, 1872, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Dickson to Miss Mary
J. Tait, who was born and reared in Rossie town-
ship, St. Lawrence county, New York, and they
are the parents of one son, Cyrus J., who is as-
sociated with his father in business.
FREDERICK D. WICKS, who is presiding
on the bench of the county court of Bon Homme
county, an incumbency which he has retained for
nearly a decade, is a native of the old Empire
.=tate of the L^nion, having been born in Fort Ed-
ward, Washington county, Xcw York, on the
31st of July, i86fi, and being the youngest of the
seven children of Walter W. and Ellen (Ken-
nedy) Wicks, all of whom survive except one,
a brief record concerning them being as follows :
William E. died at the age of forty-five years;
Mary remains at the parental home; Walter J.
is superintendent of the Indian school at Spring-
field. South Dakota ; Sarah is the wife of James
D. Keeting, a printer and publisher in Fort Ed-
ward, New York; Fannie is the wife of Frank
B. Hall, a successful merchant of Llartford, New
York; Albert H. is a cigar manufacturer and to-
bacconist at Fort Edward, that state ; and Fred-
erick D. is the immediate subject of this sketch.
The parents are still living at the old home in
T076
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Fort Edward, where the father of the subject
has long been engaged in building and contract-
ing. He is a Republican in his political procliv-
ities and both he and his wife are members of the
Episcopal church.
Judge Wicks secured his early educational
training in the public schools of his native town
and later supplemented this discipline by a course
of study in the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute.
In 1886 he began the reading of law in the office
of R. O. Bascom, a prominent member of the bar
of Fort Edward, and under his able preceptor-
ship he continued his technical studies until he be-
came eligible for admission to the bar, gaining this
distinction in 1890. Soon afterward he came to
South Dakota and located in Scotland, where he
established himself in the practice of his chosen
profession. His ability so manifested itself that
his novitiate in his new field of endeavor was of
short duration and he soon took a prominent
place at the bar of the county, while a gratifying
recognition of his personal popularity and his
professional talent came only two years after he
took up his abode in the town, since in 1892 he
was elected county judge, of which important
office he has since remained consecutivelv incum-
bent save for an interim of two years. He has a
distinctively judicial mind, is well poised and im-
partial in his rulings, which are based on a thor-
ough knowledge of the science of jurisprudence
in its various branches, and he has dignified the
bench by his able and discriminating services.
He is also city attorney of Scotland, a position
which he has held for four terms, and he is known
as a skillful advocate and a conservative and able
counsellor. In politics the Tudge gives an un-
wavering allegiance to the Republican partv, in
whose cause he has rendered timelv and efficient
service, and both he and his wife are communi-
cants of the Protestant Episcopal church, while
fraternally he is identified with Scotland Lodge,
No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons ; Scotland
Chapter. No. 31, Royal Arch Masons, and Ori-
ental Consistory, No. i. Ancient Accepted Scot-
tish Rite, in Yankton.
On the I2th of November, 189^, was solem-
nized the marriage of Judge ^^1cks to Aliss Marv
L. Wood, of Springfield, this county. She was
born in Springfield, Bon Homme county, in 1874.
Judge and Mrs. Wicks have three children, Em-
ma, Walter and Ellen.
JOHN L. TURNER, in point of consecutive
identification the oldest merchant in the state of
.South Dakota save for one exception, retaining
his residence and business headquarters in the
attractive town of Springfield, Bon Homme
county, is a scion of a family which has been
identified with the annals of American history
from the early colonial epoch, and is himself a
native of Geneseo, Livingston county. New York,
where he was born on the 26th of August, 1843,
being a son of Lyman and Martha (Lewis) Tur-
ner, of whose five children he is the eldest of the
three surviving, his sisters being I\Iary H., a
maiden lady, residing in New York city, and Isa-
bella L., the wife of Charles S. Pease, of Albany,
New York. The fatlier of the subject was born
in Connecticut, in 1809, his ancestors in the ag-
natic line having emigrated from England to
America in 1648, taking up their abode in the
colony of Massachusetts, whence representatives
later went into Connecticut, where the name be-
came one of prominence, as representative of the
highest order of citizenship. Members of the
family rendered valiant service as Continental
soldiers during the war of the Revolution, and
patriotism and loyalty have been distinguishing
family traits in successive generations. As a
voung man Lvman Turner removed with his
father. Mattlie\' Turner, who was born in 1777.
to New York city, whither an older brother had
preceded them, and after remaining for a short
time in the national metropolis he removed to
Geneseo, that state, wlierc he establishd himself
in the mercantile business. In later years he be-
came extensively engaged in the cattle business
in that section of the Empire state, and was a
member of the company which imported the first
shorthorn cattle into that district. He eventually
retired from mercantile pursuits and devoted his
entire attention to the breeding of blooded live
stock, in which connection he gained a high repu-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
tation, being very successful in his efforts and
becoming- an extensive land owner. He died at
the age of fifty-five years, in the very prime of his
honorable and useful manhood, his demise oc-
curring in 1864. He was originally an old-line
Whig in his political adherency, and espoused the
cause of the Republican party at the time of its
organization, ever afterward remaining a radical
advocate of its principles, though he never sought
ofificial preferment. He and his wife were com-
municants of the Protestant Episcopal church and
were persons of sterling character, retaining the
high regard of all who knew them. The mother
of the subject entered into the eternal life in 1861,
at the age of forty-two years.
John L. Turner remained at the parental home
until he had attained the age of twenty-two years
and after completing a course of study in the high
school at Geneseo he entered a private boarding
school conducted by Dr. Reed, at Geneva, New
York, and later continued his studies in a com-
mercial college at Rochester, that state. After
thus completing his educational discipline he be-
came actively associated with his father in the
cattle business, which he continued after the death
of his father until 1867, when he removed to Ann
Arbor, Michigan, where he resided until 1S70.
giving his attention to property interests of the
estate in that locality. In the >ear last mentioned
he cast in his lot with what is now the state of
South Dakota, coming to Springfield and here es-
tablishing himself in the general merchandise
business. About three years later he became asso-
ciated with Henry E. Ronesteel in the prosecu-
tion of the enterprise, under the firm name of
Bonesteel & Turner, and this partnership obtained
for a quarter of a century, being dissolved in
1898, after which John W. Turner, the son of our
subject, became associated with him in the busi-
ness, proving an able coadjutor, and the enter-
prise has since been continued under the firm
name of J. L. Turner & Son. The business has
grown to extensive proportions, drawing its trade
from a wide radius of contiguous country, while
the stock carried is select and comprehensive and
the firm is one whose reputation for reliability and
fair dealing is of the highest. Mr. Turner is also
the owner and operator of the Artesian roller
mills in Springfield, anf! for many years he also
conducted a drug store in the town, having re-
cently disposed of this branch of his business.
In 1864 ]\Ir. Turner enlisted as a member of
the Fifty-eighth New York National Guards,
in which he was made sergeant major, and during
liis term of service he was on guard dutv at El-
mira. New York, receiving his honorable dis-
charge in December, 1864. Mr. Turner has ever
been a stanch adherent of the Republican party
and has taken an active interest in promoting the
party cause. Soon after coming to Springfield
he was appointed postmaster of the town, being
the first incumbent of this office, which he con-
tinued to hold for a number of years, while his
also was^the distinction of being the first mayor
of the town, of which position he was likewise
incumbent for several years. He maV well be
mentioned as one of the founders and builders of
Springfield, to whose interests he has ever been
most loyal, doing all in his power to promote its
advancement and material upbuilding. In 1896
he was candidate of his party for presidential
elector, and in 1892 he was an alternate delegate
to the national Republican convention, in Min-
neapolis. He has been a member of the Masonic
fraternity since 1865 and is a charter member of
Moimt Zion Lodge, No. 6, of Springfield ; he was
a delegate at the organization of the grand lodge
of the territory of Dakota, being senior grand
warden of this body in 1879. He is also a char-
ter member of the Masonic Veterans' Associa-
tion and is identified with DeMolay Commandery,
No. 3, Knights Templar, at Yankton, and with
El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls. He
is one of the prominent members and a communi-
cant of Ascension church, Protestant EpiscopaL
in whose organization he took an active part,
and he has been a member of its vestry from that
time to the present. He was for several years a
member of the board of education of Springfield,
and in 1883 he was a member of the state con-
stitutional convention, which assembled in Sioux
Falls.
On the 17th of May, 1865, was solemnized
1078
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
the marriage of 'Sir. Turner to Miss Mary A.
Finley, of Geneseo, New York, and they became
the parents of one son, John W., who was born
on the 8th of October, 1866, and who is now as-
sociated with his father in business, being one of
the able and popular young men of the county,
Mrs. Turner entered into eternal rest on the 8th
of ?vlarch, 1884, baving been a devoted communi-
cant of the Episcopal church, and on the 2d of
Februarv, 1888, Mr. Turner was united in mar-
riage to Miss Fanny E. Howes, of Springfield,
who presides with gracious dignity over their at-
tractive home, no children having been born of
this union.
CHARLES M. KEELING, M. D.— The
attractive town of Springfield, Bon Homme
county, has in Dr. Keeling an able physician and
surgeon and one whose prestige and success
place him among the representative members of
the medical profession in the state. The Doc-
tor was born in Bartholomew county, Indiana,
on the i6th of February, 1863, being a son of
William W. and Mary R. (Speirs) Keeling, all
of whose five children are yet living, namely :
John R,, who is a merchant at Shelbyville, Indi-
ana; William F., who is engaged in the drug
business at Nemaha, Nebraska; Charles M., who
is the subject of this sketch ; Dr. James E., who
is a practicing phvsician at Sulphur Hill, Indi-
ana; and Marian R., who is the wife of Edward
L. Culver, of Omaha, Nebraska.
The father of the subject is a representative
of one of the pioneer families of Indiana, hav-
ing been born in that state in the year 1830, and
being there reared to maturity. As a young man
he prepared himself for the practice of medicine,
entering the Eclectic Medical College of Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, and being there graduated about
1858. He entered upon the practice of his pro-
fession in Indiana, where he remained until 1863,
when he went to Nemaha, Nebraska, where he
continued the work of his noble profession very
successfully, becoming one of the leading citizens
of that section. In 1863 he was elected a mem-
ber of the Nebraska legislature, and shortly after
the expiration of his term of office he returned
to Indiana, locating at Sulphur Hill, where he
continued in the active practice of medicine
about a quarter of a century, being recognized
as one of the leading physicians of that section.
About i8go he returned to Nemaha, Nebraska,
where he has since maintained his home and
where he still devotes more or less attention to
his profession, though well advanced in years.
He is a- Democrat in his political proclivities, and
his religious faith is that of the Methodist
Episcopal church. I\Tary R. Speirs was born in
Indiana in 1840 of Scotch parents.
Dr. Charles M. Keeling was an infant at the
time of his parents' removal to Nemaha, Ne-
braska, and was about three years of age when
they returned to Indiana, and thus he secured
his early educational training in the public
schools of Sulphur Hill, that state. At the age
of sixteen years he was matriculated in Harts-
ville College, at Hartsville, Indiana, where he
continued his literary studies for some time.
He was thereafter engaged in teaching in the
public schools for five years and then began
reading medicine under the effective direction of
his honored father, thus continuing until 1885,
when he entered the Medical College of Indi-
ana, at Indianapolis, where he was graduated as
a member of the class of 1887, receiving his
coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine. Soon
after his graduation he came to South Dakota
and took up his abode in Springfield, where he
has since continued in the practice of his pro-
fession, being known as a skilled physician and
surgeon and having a large and constantly in-
creasing business. In 1899 he completed a post-
graduate course in Chicago, while in 1901 he
took another post-graduate course in New York
city, ever aiming to keep in touch with the ad-
vances made in the sciences of medicine and
surgery and thus the more thoroughly fortifying
himself for his practical work in connection with
the same. He is a member of the State Medi-
cal Society, of which he was president in 1901,
and is also identified with the American Medi-
cal .Association. In politics he gives his allegiance
to the Dcinncratic party and fraternally he holds
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1079
membership in the lodge and chapter of the
Masonic order and in the adjunct order of the
Eastern Star; also the lodge and Daughters of
Rebekah. Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Modern Brotherhood, and the Knights of
the Maccabees, and the Modern Woodmen of
America.
On the 22(1 of March, 1882, Dr. Keeling was
united in marriage to Miss Viola E. Osborn, of
Sulphur Hill, Indiana, and they have one child.
Era. Airs. Keeling's father, John C. Osborn,
was born in 1840, in Ohio, and was a school
teacher. He died in 1866. The mother, whose
maiden name was Roanna Hawkins, was born
in Indiana in 1841.
PAUL LANDMANN, who is successfully
engaged in the real-estate and lumber business in
the town of Scotland, Bon Homme county, was
born in Odessa, Russia, on the 22d of February,
1853, being a son of Anton and Louisa (Hofif-
man ) Landmann and the only survivor of their
three children. His brother, Emanuel, died in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 28th of Sep-
tember, 1898, as a result of fever contracted in
Porto Rico, where he served as a member of
Company F, Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
during the Spanish-American war. The father
of our subject was born in Germany and always
remained a citizen of that empire, though he
went to Russia as a yoimg man and there main-
tained his home about a quarter of a century. A
year after the subject came to the LTnited States
and located in South Dakota his parents joined
him here, and this state continued to be their
home until their deaths.
Paul Landmann was reared to maturity in
Russia, and there acquired his educational train-
ing in the excellent schools of his native place.
In 1873, at the age of twenty years, he bade
adieu to his native land and set forth to seek
his fortunes in ^America. He landed in New
York city and from the national metropolis con-
tiiuied his westward journey to what was then
the territory of Dakota, arriving in Yankton, the
capital, with a cash fund of only five dollars.
There he was for seven years employed in the
hardware store of the firm of Wynn & Buck-
waiter, in the capacity of salesman, and in
1880 he came to Scotland, Bon Homme county,
where he engaged in the same line of enterprise
upon his own responsibility, beginning opera-
tions upon a modest scale and succeeding in
building up an excellent trade. He continued
the business about seven years, when he disposed
of the same, having been elected to the office of
county treasurer, in which he served one term,
after which he was incumbent of the office of
register of deeds of the county for a term, having
proved a most efficient executive in each of these
capacities. After his retirement from office Mr.
Landmann returned from Tyndall, the county
seat, to Scotland, where he engaged in the real-
estate business, in which he has since continued,
having handled much valuable property in this
and other counties of the state. In February,
1903, Mr. Landmann expanded the sphere of his
business operations in Scotland, by establishing
extensive lumber yards in the town, and he
already controls a large part of the lumber busi-
ness of this section. He is the owner of eleven
hundred and twenty acres of land in Hutchinson
county and much valuable real estate, both im-
proved and unimproved, in the village of Scot-
land. He is a stalwart Republican in his po-
litical adherency and is a strong factor in the
councils of his party in this section, and both
he and his wife are members of the Reformed
church.
Mr. Landmann was united in marriage to
Miss Caroline Serr. of Scotland, this county,
and they are the parents of seven children.
JAMES H. RASKIN, one of the best-known
and most popular residents of Bon Homme
county, and late mayor of the town of Scotland,
was a native of the sunny south, having been
born in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, on the 17th
of February, 1845, a son of John and Elizabeth
(P.enton) Baskin, of v/hosc seven children four
io8o
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
are living at the present time, namely: Anna,
who is the wife of a Mr. Harris, of Atlanta;
Walter, who likewise continues to reside in that
city, as does also Zachariah ; and James H., the
immediate subject of this sketch. The father of the
subject came of stanch English lineage and was
himself a native of the .state of South Carolina,
where he was reared to maturity. He finally
removed thence to Atlanta, Georgia, where he
established himself in the blacksmithing and
wagon-making business, in which he continued
to be actively engaged for many years, and in
that city he continued to reside until his death, at
the age of seventy years, while his devoted wife
passed away when the subject was quite young.
James H. Baskin was reared and educated in
his native city and was a lad of sixteen years at
the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. His
sympathies were naturally with the section in
which he had been reared, and he was among
many others of the chivalrous and valiant young
men of the south who tendered their services to
the Confederate government. At the age of six-
teen years he enlisted, in September, 1861, a^ a
member of a Georgia regiment, heavy artillery,
with which he continued in active service until
November, 1864, when he was captured at Fisher
Hill, Virginia, and taken to the Union prison
at Point Lookout, Maryland, being released on
parole two weeks later. He had participated
in many of the important engagements of the war
and had proved a valiant defender of the "lost
cause." After his release from captivity he passed
a short interval in New York city and then
drifted westward to St. Louis, Missouri, while in
t868 he came as a pioneer to the territory of Da-
kota, which was then on the frontier of civiliza-
tion. For a year after his arrival he was in the
employ of the firm of Duett & Bogue, traders, at
Fort Thompson. About this time the Indians
were removed to the Santee agency, and our sub-
ject was sent to that point in the employ of the
government, and there he continued in service un-
til 1875, when he took up his residence in Spring-
field, Bon Homme county, where he established
himself in the hotel business, in which he there
continued for the long period of eleven years.
gaining a wide acquaintanceship throughout
what is now the state of South Dakota and be-
coming one of the most popular pioneer hotel men
of the state. In 1886 he came to Scotland, where
he conducted the Baskin hotel, which is a pop-
ular resort of the traveling public, no pains being
spared to provide the best possible accommoda-
tions and cater to the comfort and pleasure of the
guests of the house. That the subject was a man
of versatility is shown when we state that for
seven years after coming to Scotland he was edi-
tor and publisher of the Scotland Journal, which
he made an able exponent of local interests
and a factor of importance in public and political
afl^airs in this section. In 1890 he was elected
mayor of the town, and served continuously as
chief executive of the municipal government from
that time to the date of his death, save for an
interim of two years. He maintained a progres-
sive policy and yet conserved economy in all de-
partments, while his long retention in office was
the best voucher of the popular appreciation ac-
corded his well-directed efiforts in the connection.
In i8Qg Mr. Baskin was elected a member of the
lower house of the state legislature, and during
his service of one term he proved an able and
discriminating legislator, taking an active part in
the work of the body, while he had the distinc-
tion of being chairman of the important commit-
tee on ways 'and means and also held membership
on the committee on railroads and that on mili-
tary affairs. He was originally an adherent of
the Democratic party, but was a man who ever
showed the courage of his convictions, and in
harmony therewith he transferred his allegiance
to the Kepublican party in 1896, during the cam-
paign of which year he gave effective service in
the support of the candidacy of President McKin-
ley, and he afterward continued a stalwart advo-
cate of the cause of the "grand old party." He
and his wife were communicants of the Protest-
ant Episcopal church, and fraternally he was
identified with Scotland Lodge, No. 52, Free and
Accepted Masons, and Scotland Chapter. Xo. 31.
Royal Arch Masons.
On the 1st of December, 1888, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Baskin to Miss Mary
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Kula, of this county, and they became the par-
ents of two sons, James E. and Frederick R., both
of wlioni remain at the parental home. Mr. Bas-
kin departed this hfe on February 29, 1904.
ELMER W. MONFORE, a well-known
and highly respected citizen of Springfield,
Bon Homme county, was born in the town of
Center Lisle, Broome county, New York, on
the 1 8th of November, 1853, being a son of Peter
and Diana A. (Howland) Hon fore, of whose
eight children seven are living, namely : Emer-
son J., who resides at Waverly, Kansas; Elmer
W., who is the subject of this review; Cora A.,
who is the wife of Qark S. Rowe, of Sioux
Falls, South Dakota; Lana H., who is the wife
of Alfred Burkholder, of that city; Alice A.,
who is the wife of Charles McBeth, of Mankato,
Minnesota; Luna B., who is the wife of Pro-
fessor Joseph W. Whiting, a member of the
faculty of the normal school in Springfield,
South Dakota; and Peter G., who is likewise
a resident of this place.
The father of the subject was born in Dela-
ware county. New York, in 1821, and in the
old Empire state he learned the trade of miller.
In 1865 he came west to Putnam county, Illinois,
where he was engaged in farming for the en-
suing three years, at the expiration of which
he removed to Marion count}^, Iowa, where he
remained about two 3'ears and then came to
South Dakota, locating in Springfield, and he
was tliereaftcr employed for a number of years
by the government as miller at the Santee Indian
agency and later at the Ponca agency, after
which he lived a retired life in Springfield until
his death, which occurred in 1895. On coming
here he took up homestead and tree-culture
claims, while at the time of his death he had re-
cently disposed of three hundred and twenty
acres of excellent land near Springfield. In
politics he was a stanch Republican, and he was
a man who ever commanded unqualified esteem.
His wife was born in Broome county, New
York, and is now living with a married daugh-
ter at Mankato, Minnesota.
Elmer W. Monfore was about twelve years
of age at the time his parents came from New
York to Illinois, and his early educational train-
ing was secured in the common schools and sup-
plemented by a course in Bryant & Stratton's
Business College in Des Moines, Iowa. After
coming to South Dakota he devoted his atten-
tion to farm work for about five years, and later
he was employed, for varying intervals, in the
mercantile establishments of D. W. Currier, M.
H. Day and P. M. Liddy, all of Springfield, the
last mentioned having succeeded Mr. Day. In
1 88 1 he engaged in business for himself, con-
ducting a drug and grocery store here for two
years, at the expiration of which he admitted
to partnership in the enterprise his cousin, Ed-
ward C. Monfore, the firm title of E. W. Mon-
fore & Company being adopted at that time.
This partnership continued until Januan' i,
1903, when the firm disposed of the business,
since which time our subject has had no active
business associations. In politics he is a Re-
publican and he has served as a member of the
board of aldermen of Springfield and also as
treasurer of the town and as a member of the
board of education. He and his wife are valued
members of the First Congregational church,
and fraternally he is identified with Mount Zion
Lodge, No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons ; Scot-
land Chapter, No. 52, Royal Arch Masons ;
Springfield Lodge, No. 7, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and Deborah Lodge, No. 52,
Daughters of Rebekah; Springfield Lodge,
Knights of Pythias, and Springfield Chapter. No.
II, Order of the Eastern Star.
On the i6th of October, 1883, Mr. Monfore
was united in marriage to Miss Emma R. Sec-
combe, of Springfield, and they became the
parents of four children: Charles E. (died Feb-
ruary 6, 1904), Alberta A., Fred H. and Milli-
cent L.
LEVI D. WAIT. — Douglas couny is favored
in having so able a representative of its interests
as the Armour Herald, which is recognized as
one of the best count}- newspapers to be found in
io82
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
the state. Of the corporation of Wait & Dana,
editors and publishers of the Herald, the subject
of this sketch is the senior member and presidait
qf the company. He is a native of the state of
Wisconsin, having been born in Sylvan Corners,
Richland county, on the 26th of June, 1867, a son
of Lorenzo and Rachel (Townsend) Wait. In
the family were ten children, and of the number
the following seven survive : Helen, who is the
wife of J. M. Cross, of Richland county, Wiscon-
sin ; Nora, who is the wife of A. P. Monnell. of
Selby. Iowa ; lona, who is the widow of William
Jones, and resides in Oacoma, South Dakota ;
Nellie, who is the wife of E. S. Wallace, of Rich-
land county, Wisconsin ; Dighton C. resides in
Richland county, Wisconsin ; Charles A., who is
likewise a resident of that county; and Levi D.,
who is the immediate subject of this sketch. Lo-
renzo Wait was born in the city of Cleveland,
Ohio, in 1829, and there he was a boyhood friend
of the late President Garfield, being reared to
maturity in that city. As a young man he became
identified with the lake marine industry, sailing
on variotis vessels on the Great Lakes for a num-
ber of years, after which he removed to Wiscon-
sin and located in Richland county, where he has
since maintained his home, save for a period of
twelve years passed in Kimball. South Dakota,
whence he and his wife returned to their old
home in Wisconsin in 1894. Both are devoted
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
in politics Mr. Wait is a stanch adherent of the
Democratic party.
The subject of this sketch was reared to ma-
turity in his native county and his educational
discipline was secured in the public schools. At
the age of twenty years he entered upon an ap-
prenticeship at the printers' trade, in the office
of the Flandreau Herald, at Flandreau, South
Dakota, his parents having been residents of this
state at the time. He continued to be identified
with the publication of this paper for three years
and was thereafter employed in the office of the
Pipestone Star, at Pipestone, Minnesota, until
1802. when he removed to Howard. Miner
county, South Dakota, where he became edifor
of the Howard Advance, retaining this position
one year, at the expiration of which he entered
into partnership with his present associate, Mr.
Dana, and purchased the plant and business of
the Miner County Democrat, of Howard, con-
tinuing the publication of the paper until 1898,
when Mr. Dana became the sole owner of the
enterprise, having purchased our subject's in-
terest. Mr. Wait was thereafter employed for
one year as a traveling commercial salesman, and
he then returned to Howard and purchased the
paper and business of his former partner, the
publication being continued under his control for
the ensuing year. In }ilay, 1901, he came to
Armour, Douglas county, and purchased the
plant of the Armour Herald, and the first edition
after the property came into his hands was issued
under his name, as editor and publisher. A week
later, however, yir. Dana became his associate
in the enterprise, and they have since successfully
carried the same forward under the firm name
of Wait & Dana (recently merged into a stock
company). Mr. Wait is inflexible in his alle-
giance to the Democratic party and takes a deep
interest in the questions and issues of the hour, as
well as in local affairs of a public nature. He has
just completed a term as alderman for the city
of Armour. In 1900 he v/as chosen permanent
secretary of the Democratic state convention at
Yankton, and since that time has been identified
more or less with the organization of the party
in the state. Mr. Wait has devoted a great
deal of time and energy the past winter to fur-
thering the ambitions of Hon. E. S. Johnson to
become national • Democratic committeeman for
South Dakota, and at the state convention in
Sioux Falls March 30. 1904. saw his eflforts re-
warded by the unanimous election of Mr. John-
son to the head of the party within the state. By
reason of his activity in party councils Mr. Wait
is probably one of the best known Democrats in
South Dakota today, and has the respect and
esteem of his party and business associates at all
times. During the summer of 1903 Mr. Wnit
was one of the prime movers in the organization
of the Publishers' ]\Tutual Insurance Association,
fo Huron, now the strongest mutual insurance
company in the state. Mr. Wait was elected it^
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
first president and was unanimously re-elected
by the board of directors at their annual 1904
meeting. He is also serving his second term as
treasurer of the South Dakota Press Association,
one of the strongest bodies of newspaper men in
the United States. He is a thorough church-
man of the Protestant Episcopal church, of which
he was made a communicant in igoo, and he is
now warden of the parish in Armour. Frater-
nally he is identified with the Masons, Knights
of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica.
On the 25th of February. 1893. was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Wait to Miss Lulu
A. Wallace, of Kimball, this state, and they are
the parents of one son, Harry W., who was
born on the 8th of September, 1895. Mrs. Wait
also is a communicant of the Episcopal church
and is an active worker in the same.
RUEL E. DANA, secretary and treasurer
of the corporation of Wait & Dana, editors and
pulilishers of the Annour Herald, was born in
Fairmount, Minnesota, on the 23d of May, 1872,
being a son of Charles T. and Lucinda ( Oilman)
Dana, of whose five children he is the eldest of
the three now living, the others being Frank N.,
who is a resident of St. Paul, Nebraska, and
Myrtie L., who is the wife of William A. Tor-
bert. of Deavertown, Ohio. The father of the
subject came of stanch New England stock, of
English extraction. He was born in the state
of Vermont, in 1820, and as a young man he set
forth to seek his fortunes in the west, becoming
one of the pioneers of the state of Wisconsin,
where he remained for a few years and then re-
peated his pioneer experiences in Minnesota,
where he resided many years. His death oc-
curred in St. Paul, Nebraska, August 4, 1893, at
the age of seventy-three years. In his youth he
learned the trade of carpenter, becoming a skilled
artisan in the line, and he was for many years
successfully engaged in contracting and build-
ing, while he also was prospered in his operitions
as a farmer. In 1887 he removed to Howard
county, Nebraska, and later to Thomas county,
in the same state, where he remained about three
years. He identified himself with the Republican
party at the time of its organization in Wiscon-
sin and continued to support its cause for many
years, but finally identified himself with the Peo-
ple's party, of whose principles he continued a
stanch advocate until his death, at which time
he was incumbent of the office of county com-
missioner of Thomas county. In earlier years he
held, at various times, practically all the county
offices in the section where he resided, having
never been defeated for any office for which he
was a candidate, and having been a power in
local affairs, showing much ability in the mar-
shalling of political forces and being an in-
fluential factor in his party councils. His wife,
who was born in the province of Quebec,
Canada, July 20, 1842, is now sixty-two years
old. I\Ir. Dana held membership in the ^letho-
dist Episcopal church in his earlier life, while his
widow is a member of the Baptist denomination.
Ruel E. Dana, the immediate subject of this
sketch, remained at the parental home until he
had attained the age of sixteen years, his edu-
cational advantages having been such as were
afforded in the public schools during a portion
of the winter periods, his time during the sum-
mer months being taken up with work on the
farm. At the age noted he initiated his independ-
ent career, having, in the summer of 1887,
entered the office of the Advance, a weekly paper
then published at Worthington, Minnesota,
under the editorial direction of A. P. Miller, a
prominent journalist and a poet of considerable
reputation. There Mr. Dana gained his initia-
tion into the mysteries of the "art preservative,"
remaining until the autumn of the same year,
when he accompanied his parents on their re-
moval to Nebraska, where he secured employ-
ment in the office of the St. Paul Phonograph
and later was an employe of the Greeley Herald,
at Greeley Center, that state. In October, 1892,
Mr. Dana came to Howard, South Dakota, ar-
riving here without funds, since the proceeds of
his former labors had largely been devoted to
assisting in the support of the family. Previous
to his arrival he had been offered employment in
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
tlie office of the Miner County Democrat, in
Howard, resigning his position with the Greeley
(Nebraska) Herald to accept the South Dakota
position, and less than two months later, on the
ist of December, 1892, he formed a partnership
with Levi D. Wait, his present associate, and
purchased the plant of the Democrat "on tick,"
which they continued to publish under the same
title, the enterprise proving a financial success,
as is evident when we revert to the fact that the
young men were able to pay for their plant
within eleven months after its purchase, while
they advanced the paper to a position among the
best and most widely quoted in that section of the
state. In 1898 Mr. Dana purchased his partner's
interest and individually continued the publica-
tion about one year, when he sold the plant and
business to Mr. Wait, and he then secured em-
ployment in a local mercantile establishment,
his impaired health having necessitated this
change of vocation. In the autumn of 1900 Mr.
Dana went to Seneca, Missouri, where he took
a working interest in the Seneca Dispatch, with
an ultimate view of purchasing the property if
satisfied with the business outlook and climatic
conditions. After a six-months residence in the
Missouri town he was not satisfied, however, and
thereafter made a trip through Oklahoma, In-
dian Territory and Texas, returning to Howard,
South Dakota, in April, 1901, and there rejoin-
ing his family. Within the period of his ab-
sence Mr. Wait had sold the Democrat and in
May, 1901, had come to Armour and con-
tracted for the purchase of the Armour Herald,
publishing the first copy under his name. One
week later Mr. Dana joined his old partner here
and purchased a half interest in the business,
which has since been continued under the firm
name of Wait & Dana, merged into a corpor-
ation January 5, 1904, all the stock being owned
by the subject and his partner.
In politics Mr. Dana is a zealous advocate of
the principles of the Democratic party, in whose
work he has taken an active part. While a resi-
dent of Howard he held the office of village
recorder for two terms. In the fall of IQ02, yield-
ing to the importunities of his party friends, he
became a candidate for the office of auditor of
Douglas county, and he was elected to this office,
notwithstanding the fact that the normal political
complexion of the county is strongly Republican
and that he had been a resident of the county
only eighteen months at the time of his election.
He received a majority of thirty-one votes, and
was appreciative of the honor conferred upon
him by the voters of the county, while his service
has proved the wisdom of their confidence and
support. Fraternally, Mr. Dana is a ]\Iason
and a member of Washington Lodge, No. 104,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Armour.
He passed through all the chairs of Lodge No.
48, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at
Howard and has been a representative to the
grand lodge of the state. He is also identified
with the encampment of the order and with the
Daughters of Rebekah, while he is affiliated with
Armour Camp, No. 2746, Alodern Woodmen
of America. He and his wife are communicants
of the Protestant Episcopal church. Mrs. Dana
is at present noble grand of Pleiades Lodge, No.
86, of Armour, and is the representative to the
state assembly, of South Dakota, for 1904.
On the 15th of August, 1894, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Dana to Miss Ellen
-Moore, of Howard, this state, and they are the
parents of three children, Florian Alice, Charles
M. and Clarence E.
JAMES H. EXON, one of the prominent and
honored citizens of Charles Mix county, formerly
incumbent of the office of county judge, as well
as that of county auditor, and the principal figure
in the County Seat State Bank, at Wheeler, is a
native of the "right little, tight little isle" of Eng-
land, having been born in Somersetshire, on the
nth of July, 1858, being a son of Henry and
Sarah Exon, both of whom were likewise burn
in Somersetshire, of stanch old English stuck.
Both secured excellent educational advantiL;t^
and both received life certificates as teachers in
England, where both gained distinction and pro 11-
inence in educational circles, the father ha\iii^
devoted the major portion of his active cancr
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
to the pedagogic profession, while his wife also
devoted herself to teaching for several years.
The former was for nine years superintendent of
the Ripleyville British schools and for eighteen
years was principal of the schools at Wookey, '
Somersetshire, where the subject of this sketch
was born. The mother of the Judge was like-
wise a teacher in the schools at that place. In
1882 the parents left their native land and came
to the United States, our subject having come to
Canada in the preceding year, and from New
York city they proceeded to Iowa, where they
resided about six months, after which they came
to South Dakota, and secured claims in Charles
Mix county, the property being located in what
is now Forbes township.
In the month of May, 1881. Judge Exon bade
adieu to home and native land and emigrated to
America, landing in Quebec, and remaining in
Canada about one year, at the expiration of which
he joined his parents, who had located temporarily
in Iowa, as has just been noted. In the autumn
of 1882 he preceded them into what is now the
state of South Dakota and selected the land for
his father and for the four children who had at-
tained years of maturity, the members of the
family thus eventually being able to prove up on
the five quarter sections which he had selected
in Charles Mix county, of which they were pio-
neer settlers. Later three of these quarter sections
were sold and the parents of the subject then re-
moved to Gage county, Nebraska, where thev
now reside, the father having retired from active
labors and being now sixty-eight years of age,
while his devoted wife has attained the age of
seventy years. Both are members of the Epis-
copal church and are folk of sterling character
and high intellectual attainments.
Judge Exon attended the Ripleyville schools
for a period of five years, during which time lie
prepared himself for his collegiate course. He
then entered Cullom College, near famed old Ox-
ford, where he was graduated in 1879. after
which he was for two years an assistant master
in the schools at Ripleyville, Bradford and York-
shire. It was the wish of his father that he should
follow the profession of teaching, in which the
former had attained so gratifying success, but the
Judge early manifested a desire to turn his atten-
tion to agricultural pursuits and it was in har-
mony with this ambition that he was led to emi-
grate to America. After his location in South
Dakota he taught in the district schools during
the winter months, and during the balance of the
year devoted his time to the improving and culti-
vation of his farming land. In the autumn of
1890 he was elected to the office of county audi-
tor, and in the following January he removed
from his farm to the village of Wheeler, the
county seat, to enter upon the active discharge
of his official duties. He gave a most capable
and satisfactory administration, and at the expi-
ration of his term of two years he engaged in the
abstract business, while in July of the same year
he was appointed state's attorney, to fill the unex-
pired term of the regular incumbent. A. L. Hnp-
paugh. who removed from the state. In the fol-
lowing October Judge Exon was one of the lead-
ing spirits in bringing about the organization of
the People's party in this section of the state,
and, in company with seven other prominent
workers in the movement, he purchased the
Wheeler Courier, the weekly newspaper published
in the capital town of the county, and this was
thereafter made an effective exponent of the cause
of the party. Our subject's appointment to the
office of state's attorney, for which he was well
qualified in an abstract way, led him to make a
careful study of the technical branches of the
science of jurisprudence, and he was admitted
to the bar of the state, upon examination before
the supreme court, at Pierre, on the 3d of Octo-
ber, 1893. From time to time he continued to
acquire the interests of other stockholders in the
Wheeler Courier, of which he became sole owner
in 1901, while the paper has been under his edi-
torial charge and his general direction from the
time it was purchased by him and others, as pre-
viously mentioned. In the autumn of 1898 he
was elected to the office of county judge, serving
one term, and in January, 1902, he again received
the appointment of state's attorney to fill a va-
cancy caused by the resignation of T. J. Reming-
ton, and he served in this capacity until the ex-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
piration of the term, in January, 1903. In March,
1903, was effected the organization of the County
Seat State Bank, and Judge Exon was made
president of the institution at that time and still
continues as chief executive. He still continues
in the active practice of the law and is also en-
gaged in the real-estate and abstract business.
He now gives his allegiance to the Democratic
party, of whose principles he is a stanch advo-
cate, and his religious faith is that of the Protest-
ant Episcopal church, of which he is a communi-
cant, but as there is no church organization in
Wheeler he and his family attend the Congrega-
tional church services. Fraternally he is identi-
fied with Doric Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, at Platte, this state.
On the 26th of June, 1886. Judge Exon was
united in marriage to Miss Emma Smith, of
Mitchell, South Dakota, and they became the
parents of three sons, Arthur R., Walter E. and
John J. In 1896 Mrs. Exon's health had become
so seriously impaired that he deemed it advisable
to take her for an ocean voyage, in the hope that
she might recuperjtte her energies, and they ac-
cordingly visited his old home in England, where
she received treatment without avail, since her
death there occurred four months later, on the
5th of August, 1896. On the 20th of April, 1898,
at Paris, Kentucky, was solemnized the marriage
of Judge Exon to Miss Marian Smith, a native of
England and a sister of his former wife, and they
are the parents of one child, Dorothy J.
WILLIAM L. RYBURN, cashier and gen-
eral manager of the business of the First Na-
tional Bank of Alexandria, was born in Rock-
ford, Illinois, May 10, 1872, a son of William
and Mar\- (Legge) Ryburn, to whom were born
six children, namely : Anna, who resides in
Alexandria ; George, who is engaged in the real-
estate business in this place; John, of Alexan-
dria; Minnie, who is the wife of G. H. Mont-
gomery, engaged in the furniture business in
the same place; William L., who figures as the
immediate subject of this sketch, and Maud,,
who is the wife of Dr. E. E. King, of Mitchell,
this state. Both the father and mother of the
subject were born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland,
the former in 1836 and the latter in 1835. The
parents of each died when they were children
and they were reared in the homes of relatives,
and after attaining maturity each came to
America in company with relatives. Both
located in the city of Rockford, Illinois, where
the father learned the trade of blacksmith, in
which he was there engaged for nearly thirty
years. In 1883 he came with his family to
South Dakota and purchased a pre-emption claim
in Hanson county, where he continued to be en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits and stock grow-
ing up to the time of his death, which occurred
in 1898, his devoted wife having been sum-
moned into eternal rest in 1893. Both were
worthy members of the Presbyterian church and
were folk of sterling character, honored lay all
who knew them.
The subject of this review was about ten
years of age at the time of his parents' removal
to South Dakota, and his early educational train-
ing had previously been secured in the public
schools of his native city, to which he later re-
turned for the purpose of taking a course in the
Rockford Business College, in which he was
graduated in 1891, having completed a thorough
commercial course. He then returned to his
home in South Dakota and was given a position
in the Hanson County Bank, in Alexandria,
proving himself a capable and faithful executive
and being made assistant cashier of the institu-
tion in 1894, while in 1899 '""^ was chosen cashier.
In 1 90 1 the bank was reorganized and incorpor-
ated as the First National Bank of Alexandria,
with a capital stock and surplus of fifty thou-
sand dollars, and Mr. Ryburn was forthwith
placed in executive charge of the affairs of the
institution, which has gained a leading position
through his able and well-directed efforts. In
1899 he was sent to Elk Point, Union county, to
superintend the business of the Citizens" Bank,
which was practically a branch of the bank at
Alexandria, and there he remained about eigh-
teen months, within which time the institution
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1087
was reorganized as the First National Bank of
Elk Point.
Mr. Ryburn is one of the leaders in the local
ranks of the Republican party and is secretary
of its county organization. He is a member of
Celestial Lodge, No. 37, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, and Mitchell Chapter, Royal Arch Masons,
of Alexandria; St. Bernard Commandery,
Knights Templar, at Mitchell; Oriental Consist-
ory. No. I, Ancient .Vccepted Scottish Rite,
in Yankton, and El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in
Sioux Falls, being an appreciative and enthu-
siastic affiliate of these various bodies of the
time-honored order of Freemasonry. He has
held the office of worshipful master of his lodge
for the past three years. He and his wife hold
membership in the Presbyterian church.
On the 28th of April, 1898. Mr. Ryburn was
united in marriage to Miss Edith Peckham, of
Alexandria, and they are the parents of two chil-
dren, Leota and Helen.
ED^^^\RD E. W.\GXER, one of the repre-
sentative members of tlie bar of Hanson county,
was born in Lyon county. Iowa, October 22,
1870, a son of James H. and Louisa E. (ConkUn)
Wagner, of whose six children four are living,
namely: Orville S., of Rock Rapids, Iowa;
Fred B.. of Pasadena, California; Hulbert D.,
of Hawarden, Iowa, and Edward E., subject of
this sketch. The father of the subject was born
in Pennsylvania, on the 8th of February, 1840,
and as a boy accompanied his parents on their
removal thence to Iowa, the family locating in
Linn county, where he was reared to manhood
on the homestead farm. He was there married
in the year i860, and in the following year en-
listed as a private in Company G, Twenty-fourth
Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which
he remained in service until the close of the great
conflict which perpetuated the integrity of the
Union. He was captured by the enemy at Sabine
Crossroads, Texas, and later was again taken
captive in a spirited engagement, passing about
fourteen months in rebel prisons. He was with
Grant in the siege of Vicksburg and participated
in many of the important engagements incident
to the progress of the war. After receiving his
honorable discharge he returned to his home in
Iowa, where he continued to be identified with
farming until 1870, when he removed to the
northwestern part of that state, where he took up
government land. He was one of the organizers
of Lyon county, in 1871, and was chosen the first
treasurer of the count}-, while for many years
thereafter he was a member of the county board
of supervisors, being a man of influence in that
section and a prominent figure in the local ranks
of the Republican party, of whose principles he
was an ardent advocate. He passed the re-
mainder of his life in the county which he aided
in organizing, his death there occurring on the
15th of November, 1884, while his cherished and
devoted wife entered into eternal rest on the 7th
of October, 'igoi, both having been consistent
members of the Congregational church, while he
was a Royal Arch Mason.
Edward E. Wagner was reared on the home-
stead farm and after attending the district schools
completed a course in the high schools at Rock
Rapids, Iowa. In February, 1891, he began read-
ing law in the office of H. G. McMillan, of that
place, his former preceptor being now L^nited
States district attorney for the northern district
of Iowa, while he was for several years a prom-
inent m.ember of th.e Republican stat^ central com-
mittee of Iowa. Under the able direction of this
honored preceptor the subject continued his tech-
nical studies until his admission to the bar. on
the 13th of May. 1893. He then came to Mitch-
ell, South Dakota, where he was associated in the
practice of his profession with D. A. Mizener
until November, 1895, when he returned to Rock
Rapids, Iowa, and became associated in practice
with his former preceptor, Mr. McMillan, who
had lately been chosen chairman of the Repub-
lican state central committee. About one year
later Mr. Wagner formed a law partnership with
C. J. Miller, of Rock Rapids, and this profes-
sional alliance there continued until April, 1899,
when the subject came again to South Dakota
and located in Alexandria, where he has since
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
been established in practice, having gained a high
reputation as an advocate and being one of the
prominent and successful members of the bar.
He is a stanch Republican, and in 1900 was
elected state's attorney of Hanson county, serving
one term. He was the nominee of his party for
representative of his district in the state senate
in 1903, but met the defeat which attended the
party ticket in general in this section. He is a
member of Celestial Lodge, No. 37, Free and
Accepted Masons ; of Mitchell Chapter, No. 16,
Roval Arch Masons; and St. Bernard Command-
erv, No. 11, Knights Templar, of Mitchell, while
lie also is affiliated with the Alexandria lodges
of the Modern Woodmen of America and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has
served as a member of the county central commit-
tee of the Republican party and is a zealous
worker in the cause of the same. He is a member
of the Presbyterian church, at Alexandria.
On the loth of July, 1894, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Wagner to Miss Alice E. Tres-
ler, of Rock Rapids, Iowa, and they are the par-
ents of three children, Hazel L.. Ruth N. and
Robert Edward.
HORACE J. AUSTIN.— Standing in the
clear white light of a life and character such as
denoted the late Horace J. Austin, we are
moved to a feeling of admiration, respect and
reverence, for he stood for all that signifies sane,
well poised and noble manhood. He was one of
the foremost citizens of the state of South Da-
kota, and in his home city of Vermillion, Clay
county, his death came with a sense of personal
bereavement to his fellow townsmen, who could
not but appreciate his sterling worth and his
value to the community. Tt is fitting that in this
history be incorporated a memoir of this distin-
guished citizen.
Horace I. Austin was born in Washington
cotuity. New York, July 11. 1837, and when he
was two years of age his parents removed thence
to Essex county, that state, where he was reared
to manhood, cnntinuing to abide beneath the
home roof initil the fall of 7857, when, as a young
man of twenty years, he set forth to seek his for-
tunes as a pioneer in the west, his educational
advantages having been such as were aff'orded
in the common schools. He proceeded as far as
Dubuque, Iowa, where he secured employment
with a company of surveyors, and there he made
his home for two years save when absent on
surveying expeditions. Twice within this period
his business brought him within the confines of
the territory of Dakota, and on the second trip
he decided to here take up his permanent resi-
dence. Accordingly he located in Yankton, the
capital of the territory, where he was living at
the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. In 186 r
he enlisted in Company A, First Dakota Cavalr\ .
which was stationed for some time in Vermillion,
where it was mustered out on the 9th of ]\Iay,
1865, having thus served during the entire period
of the war, principally in repelling the ravages
of hostile Indians, and the record of our subject
as a soldier was one that will ever redound to
his horior. After his military career he contin-
ued to reside in Vermillion until his death, which
occurred on the 27th of February, 1891, as the re-
sult of an attack of pneumonia, which brought
his life to a close in the zenith of its power and
usefulness. From a previously published outline
of his career we enter the following excerpt :
Although he never had the advantages of what is
technically designated as higher education, he was a
man who had the power of gaining much through
absorption, observation and personal application, and
his knowledge of men and affairs was well rounded
and symmetrical. His honesty, integrity and stead-
fastness of character won him a high place in the
- hearts of the people, and he was six times elected a
member of the legislature. In 1868-9 he was presi-
dent of the territorial council. As a civil engineer
he secured government surveying contracts every year
from 1866 until his death, and there are few if any
counties in the state which do not bear some of his
surveying stakes. In temporal affairs Mr. Austin
was greatly prospered, but freely as he received, with
equal freedom did he give to the poor and needy.
His was a kindly, sympathetic nature and charity
and tolerance abided with him as constant guests.
The principles of diligence and faithfulness were
early mastered by him and ever dominated his course
in life. His name, too. was a synonym of honesty,
and in writing to his sister, several years prior to
HORACE J. AUSTIN.
MRS. RACHEL M. R. AUSTEN.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1089
his death, he said: "I am being prospered, but this
much I can say, I have never talven an unjust penny
from any man." In the political history of South
Dakota he bore an honorable part, and as a legislator
was associated with such men of prominence as Moody,
Brookings and a host of others, and was the acknowl-
edged peer of all. As a citizen he believed in law
and its obeyance, and as a man he was gentle, cour-
teous and obliging. In truth, Horace J. Austin was
well-nigh the embodiment of man's ideal. He was
a sturdy pioneer, a patient soldier, a faithful legisla-
tor, .a true citizen, a loyal friend, and, last but not
least, a loving and indulgent husband.
On the occasion of his funeral the president
of tlie State University spoke of him as follows :
"With all his niodesty and simplicity, he was a
.a;reat, strong man and played a full man's part
in the world. He could not be moved from the
position which he believed to be right ; he was
true to his conscience. He was like a child in
freedom from trickery or meanness or malice.
He was every inch a man in the thick of life's
struggles with evil and wrong. With a heart
tender to suffering, he knew what it was to be
righteously indignant against the evils that pro-
duce suffering. What a wide range of character
these traits cover! A simple-hearted, strong-
willed, generous, gentle man — what more can be
said of character? * * And I call this life
successful because, first, Mr. Austin won an hon-
orable success in his chosen pursuit. He became
an expert surveyor ; he acquired reputation and
a competence. His work was honest w&rk.
Successful, second, in that he was a loyal and
loved citizen and an honored public servant.
There was no public enterprise in which he was
not interested. He could be counted on for
everything that concerned the welfare of the peo-
ple. And it was a matter of course that such a
man should be chosen for public service. He
was the model citizen. He never sought office;
he was too distrustful of his own abilities, too
modest for that. He shunned rather than courted
responsibility, yet, like a true inan, when the office
sought him he accepted it as a true citizen, with
determination to do his best." Mr. Austin was a
niember of the lower house of the state legislature
at the time of his death, and thus he died in the
harness, faithful to the last and one of that noble
band of pioneers who were associated in the
founding and building of a gyeat commonwealth.
His political support was given to the Republican
party and fraternally he was prominently identi-
fied with the Masonic order and the Grand Army
of the Republic. Though he never formally
identified himself with any religious body he had
the deepest reverence for the spiritual verities
as exemplified in the Christian faith, and guided
and guarded his life in accord with the teachings
of the divine Master, whom he served with hmnil-
ity and reverence, his being the faith that makes
faithful.
The home of Mr. Austin was ever to him
a sacred spot, and here his ambitions and affec-
tions centered and shone most resplendently.
To violate this sanctity by words of eulogy would
be most flagrant abuse in this connection, but in
conclusion of this memoir we enter a brief record
concerning the domestic chapter in his life his-
tory. On the 2ist of March, 1870, Mr. Austin
was united in marriage to Miss Rachel M. Ross,
who was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, on the
1st of June, 1838, being a daughter of Benjamin
and Mary (Palm) Ross. The father died in
Arkansas and Mrs. Ross later came to Vermillion
Dakota, where she died on the 22d of January,
1876. Mrs. Austin, whose death occurred March
6, 1 904, was a woman of gracious presence and
noble character and proved a true helpmeet to her
husband, their companionship being ideal in all
its relations. Mr. and Mrs. Austin had no chil-
dren, but their generous natures prompted them
to provide a home for three children, all of whom
were reared with utmost care and solicitude,
namely: Leroy O. Stevens, who is now living
at Victor, Colorado ; Anna Ross, who is now at
Silex, Missouri, and Helen P., who was legally
adopted by them in infancy, l)eing now of Ver-
million.
Rachel Ross was born in Warren, Trumbull
county, Ohio, June i, 1838, where she grew to
young womanhood, and received her education.
In 1867, with her mother, she came to Dakota
territory and t(Xik up her home in \''ermillion.
Soon after her arrival here, she was employed
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
by the pioneer people to teach in the school-
house which they had erected — the old log
school-house in the ravine — and even today
are those in this city who w£re her pu-
pils at that time. In 1870 she was married
to Horace J. Austin, who preceded her to the
better land some thirteen years ago. Never were
husband and wife any more alike or more con-
genial in their natures. They' possessed the
same ideas as regards the doing of good to their
fellow-beings.
When Mr. Austin died and left to his wife his
large estates, she used the income in the manner
that they both did before : the relief of the suf-
fering and needy, the making of a pleasant home,
and assisting in all the public enterprises in
which the people of the city were interested. She
donated to the city the block of land near the
fair grounds to be used for park purposes ; and
although she has not been permitted to live to
see its full development, yet that park will stand
as a monument to her large-heartedness and pub-
lic spirit. And in days to come, as the genera-
tions view this monument it will recall to their
minds the life and works of a good, true and
generous woman.
In the early history of this community Mrs.
Austin was one of the foremost figures. In re-
ligious work she was among the leaders. She
was a charter member of the first organization in
this city, and was the last survivor of that noble
band who worked so hard and faithfully during
those early days to establish the church in this
community, and from the earliest inception of the
society up to the present time she has been one
of the pillars in the support of the church and
organization. She was always ready and willing
to do more than her share in matters pertaining
to its welfare. Her home was always open to
church social gatherings, and her life was de-
voted to the cause of the Master.
Mrs. Austin was an untiring worker in the
ranks of the Woman's Christian Tem]>erance
Union, and to her devotion is largely due the
fact that the local union has been made one of the
strongest in the state. It was but a week before
her death that slic oiiencd the doors of her home
for a public memorial service in honor of the
memory of Frances E. Willard. As a tribute to
her memory, the following testimonial by the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union was read
at the funeral services :
In behalf of the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, we desire to express the regret we feel in the
loss of our dear sister, Mrs. Austin, who was so
heavenly in her aims, and who earnestly worked to
extend the blessings of temperance and to build up
the union. We believe if the sealed lips could speak
to us from the calm heights among the hills of God,
that it would be to bid the women of today stand
together to secure for the world a truer motherhood,
a nobler manhood, a higher type of citizenship.
Through the help of Christian womanhood homes are
to be lifted from dishonor. The world is better be-
cause of the life of such a woman, and while her
noble soul was ever filled with gratitude to God, her
great heart was ever reaching out in helpfulness to
humanity. It does not seem possible that we shall
no more see her "till we lift the latch and pass into
the other chamber of the King, a chamber larger than
this." It is very hard to say, "Thy will be done."
How can we get on without her?
She always gave her warmest support to any
cause that she thought was right, and when the
woman suffrage movement was started she iden-
tified herself with the work, and at the time of
her death was president of the local league. Four
years ago, when the proposition was up for the
consideration of the voters in the shape of a con-
stitutional amendment, she managed the cam-
campaign in this county, and brought to the
standard of the equal suffragists far more sup-
port than the advocates of the movement had
anticipated.
She was a prominent member of the Eastern
Star lodge, and in her death the members of that
order were called upon to mourn the loss of one
whose counsels were looked up to with confi-
dence, and whose advice was timely and good.
As a tribute to her memory the members of the
order complied with her often expressed desire,
and' took up a goodly collection and sent to the
Children's Home at Sioux Falls.
Another society in whose work she took the
utmost interest was the Cemetery Improvement
Association. It was her aim to make a beautiful
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
place of this resting-place of the dead. And now
as her body lies within the enclosure of that sacred
spot, her associates of the society will recall her
efforts in bringing Bluff View Cemetery to its
present orderly arrangement.
She was a heavy stockholder in the County
Fair Association, and took an active interest in
the work pertaining to the annual exhibitions.
She was very fond of the young people, and
always had room in her home for some young man
or woman who was working his or her way
through school or college. There are many of
this class of pupils who have attended the Univer-
sity in years past, who will give evidence of her
large-heartedness and her timely assistance while
they were struggling on the upward grade.
In educational matters Mrs. Austin took a
deep interest. Not only did she lend her energies
to the betterment of educational facilities, but she
had the interests of the teachers at heart. Her
spacious lawn and pleasant home have been the
scene of many a happy party given to the teach-
ers of the city and county, and she was ahvays
happy when she was engaged in entertaining a
company of this kind. At the city election in
1903 she was chosen a member of the city school
board from the fourth ward, and had been faith-
ful in the discharge of her duties as such mem-
ber. The other members of the board have been
aided by her presence, and they will miss her
quick womanly discernment and sound judgment.
As a mark of respect to her memory, the board
dismissed school on Tuesday and the board and
tlie teachers attended the funeral services in a
body.
All of Mrs. Austin's public and private bene-
factions originated in her own home and radi-
ated from that home out into the community.
She had an intuitive way of finding out who
really needed help, and when she found that some
poor family was destitute and the family was
worthy, help was immediately forthcoming. She
had an extraordinary power of estimating the
value of timely help where help was needed.
]\Iany are the times that she has ordered gro-
ceries and provisions sent from the stores to the
needv ones in the citv, and there are those who
will miss her faithful watchfulness and gentle
ministrations in this regard. She felt that it was
her duty — the performance of these many kind-
nesses — and she never shrank from what she
deemed to be her duty, no matter where the
jjerformance of that duty lay.
In view of Rlrs. Austin's generosity, her many
kindnesses and her gifts to the city, Mayor Bry-
ant issued the following proclamation :
Mayor's Office, Vermillion, S. D., March 8, 1904.
Again death has entered our city and claimed one
of our number, whose strength of mind and character
and whose devotion to duty and interest in the wel-
fare of others made her more than ordinary, Mrs.
H.J.Austin. Her life work was not confined to the ra-
dius of a few. but extended to the public at large in
more ways than one. One of our city parks we today
own by the grace of her benevolence. Her death
casts a gloom over our entire city. I, therefore, ex-
press what I am certain will be the desire of every
citizen, that, during the funeral hour from three to
four o'clock this afternoon, all places of business he
closed and all business be suspended, that we may as
a city show our admiration for her character.
W. C. Bryant, Mayor.
P. F. WICKHEM, one of the representa-
tive merchants of Alexandria, is a native of the
state of Wisconsin, having been born on a farm
in Dodge county, on the 15th of October. 1855.
He is a son of John and Catherine (Joyce) Wick-
hem, of whose seven children six are living,
namely: Michael, a resident of Waterloo, Wis-
consin ; P. P., the immediate subject of this
sketch : James G.. who is a prominent attorney
of Beloit, Wisconsin, where he served four years
as postmaster, being one of the leaders of the
Democratic party in that section ; Maria, who re-
mains on the old homestead, with her brother
Michael ; Nellie E., who makes her home with
the subject ; and Margaret, principal in the pub-
lic schools of Beloit, Wisconsin. The father was
born in County Wexford, Ireland, about 1825,
and was there reared to manhood, having been
left an orphan when a mere lad and having thus
been early thrown upon his own resources. He
there devoted his attention to farm work until
1842, when he emigrated to America, being vari-
1092
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ously employed, in different states of the Union,
for the first four years of his residence here and
finally taking up his permanent abode in Dodge
county, Wisconsin, where he purchased a farm
of eighty acres, becoming one of the prominent
and prosperous farmers of the county and being
the owner of a fine estate of three hundred and
twenty acres at the time of his death, which oc-
curred in 1892. He was a Democrat in politics
and he and his wife were communicants of the
Catholic church, the latter having entered into
eternal rest in 1897.
The subject of his sketch was reared on the
home farm and completed the course of studies
in the graded schools of Waterloo, Wisconsin,
being graduated in 1873. He then secured a
clerkship in a general store in that town, where
he remained until 1880. when he came to Alexan-
dria. South Dakota, in charge of a stock of gen-
eral merchandise owned by his employer, S. M.
Wiener, and here he opened a branch store. Two
years later he engaged in the same line of enter-
prise on his own responsibility, opening his store
on the 1st of May, 1882, and he has ever since
been identified with this enterprise, which has
been developed into one of the most important
of the sort in the county, controlling a large and
representative trade. The business is now placed
in charge of H. L. Burlew, who has been in the
employ of the subject for the past twenty-two
years. Mr. Wickhem withdrew from the active
supervision of his store in order to devote his
attention to his extensive cattle interests, having
become identified with this important line of in-
dustry in 1900. He is now the proprietor of the
Rose Hill and the Spring Valley stock farms,
comprising twelve hundred acres of the best land
in the county, and he has gained a high reputa-
tion throughout the state as a breeder of short-
horn cattle, which he raises upon a large scale,
having done much to advance the stock interests
of this section and having two of the finest stock
farms to be found in the state. In politics Mr.
Wickhem is an uncompromising Democrat, and
has ever taken an active part in furthering the
|)arty cause. His is the distinction of having been
chosen the first mavor of Alexandria after its
incorporation, in 1885, and he served two terms
as treasurer of the county, while further official
honors came to him in 1890, when he was elected
to represent his district in the state senate, serv-
nig with ability and discrimination during the
sessions of 1890-91. In 1893-4 Mr- Wickhem
held the position of internal revenue collector for
the eastern district of South Dakota, then resign-
ing the office in order to give his attention to his
personal business interests. He has been an im-
portant factor in the ranks of the Democracy in
the state, and was a delegate to the national con-
vention of 1892, in Chicago, which nominated
Cleveland for the presidency. He is president of
the Retail Merchants 'Association of South Da-
kota, and was one of the organizers of the Retail
^Merchants' Fire Insurance Company, of whose
directorate he is a member. He and his wife are
communicants of St. Mary's church, Roman
Catholic, and he is a member of its official board.
On the 1st of June, 1897, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Wickhem to Miss Ella Hayes,
of Rockford, Illinois, and they are the parents
of one son. John Francis, who was born on the
27th of April, 1 89 1.
N. J. EROCK!\IAN, vice-president and
manager of the State Bank of Spencer, is a
native of Germany, where he was born on the
26th of April. 1853, being a son of Qaus and
Aple (Stuhr) Brockman, both of whom passed
their entire lives in Germany.
The subject of this review was reared to
manhood in his native land and was given
the advantages of a collegiate education. He
came to America in 1871. with but little financial
reinforcement, and located in the city of Daven-
port, Iowa, where he was variously employed
for several months. He then went to Tama
county, that state, where he was identified with
agricultural pursuits until 1877, when he took
up his residence in the town of Traer, Iowa,
where he engaged in the mercantile business, in
which he was very successful, there laying the
foundation for the distinctive prosperity which
he today enjoys. In 1881 he engaged in the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA
same line of enterprise in Gradbrook, Iowa,
where he remained two years, at the expiration
of which he disposed of his interests there and
engaged in the lumber trade at Kingsley, that
state, also buying and shipping grain. There he
continued to make his home until 1901. when he
sold his prosperous business and removed to
Sac City, Iowa, where he resided until January
I, 1903, when he became associated with M. D.
Gates in the purchase of the State Bank of
Spencer, South Dakota, Mr. Gates being made
president of the corporation, while the subject
assumed his present office of vice-president and
general manager. Mr. Brockman is a Republican
in his political proclivities, while he and his wife
are members of the German Lutheran church,
and fraternally he is identified with the lodge,
chapter and commandery of the Masonic order,
and also with the Ancient Arabic (.)rder of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
In 1883 Mr. Brockman was united in mar-
riage to Miss Bertha E. Gebauer, of Lyons.
Iowa. One son has been born of this union, Ray,
who is now a student in the Iowa State Agri-
cultural College, at Ames.
W. S. HILL, one of the representative busi-
ness men of Hanson county and an influential
citizen of Alexandria, was born in Edgar county,
Illinois, on the 3d of June, 1863, being a son of
Joseph and Rebecca (Braden) Hill, of whose
four children three are living at the present lime,
naniel}- : Elizabeth, wife of \\' illiam Hillyard.
of Wayne county. Iowa ; Albert, a resident of
Alexandria, South Dakota; and W. S., the im-
mediate subject of this sketch. Joseph Hill was
born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and
his wife in Greene county, that state, both being
of Scotch-Irish lineage, and both having re-
ijioved to the state of Illinois when young, their
marriage having been there solenniized a few
years later. The father of the subject was reared
on a farm but as a young man learned the trade
of carpenter, becoming a skilled artisan. He fol-
lowed his trade for a time in Iowa, having re-
sided in Keokuk, and then returned to Illinois,
settling in Edgar county after his marriage and
there engaging in agricultural pursuits. He ten-
dered his services in defense of the union at the
time of the Civil war, enlisting as a member of
Company E, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer In-
fantry, with which he served eighteen months, —
until the close of the war, when he received his
honorable discharge. In 1869 he removed ta
Iowa and located in Wayne county, where he
became a prominent and prosperous farmer,
there continuing his residence until his death,
in 1897, at the age of sixty years. He was a
Republican in politics from the time of the or-
ganization of the party, and was originally a
member of the Presbyterian church, later em-
bracing the faith of the r^Iethodist Episcopal
church. His widow is still living, making her
home in Wayne count}-.
The subject of this sketch completed the
curriculum of the common schools and was
graduated in the high school at Allerton, Iowa,
as a member of the class of 1884, while two years
prior to this he had completed a course in the
Pierce Business College, in Keokuk, Iowa, be-
ing duly graduated in 1882. At the age of
twenty-one years he secured a position with a
firm of wholesale dealers in farming machinery
and implements in the city of Des Moines, re-
maining thus engaged for a short time and then
accepting a position with the McCormick Har-
vesting ]\Iachine Company, while a year later
he entered the employ of a wholesale grocery
house in Des I\Ioines. In the spring of 1887 Mr.
Hill came to South Dakota and located in Alex-
andria, where he purchased an interest in the
business of Lanz & Jacobs, securing the interest
of the junior member of the firm, while opera-
' tions were continued under the title of Lanz &
I Hill, the enterprise involving the handling of
agricultural implements and machinery and
varied allied lines of goods. In 1893 the sub-
ject's brother, Albert, purchased Mr. Lanz's in-
terest in the business, which was conducted for
the ensuing six years under the firm name of
( Hill Brothers. In 1899 our subject purchased
his Ijrother's interest and has since been in entire
I094
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
control of the extensive business which
has been built up through energy-, enter-
prise and honorable methods. He handles a
complete assortment of agricultural implements,
vehicles of all kinds, harness and saddlery goods
and also coal, and the enterprise ranks as one of
the foremost of the sort in this section of the
state.
In 1897 Mr. Hill became identified with the
cattle business, making his first purchase of
ranch land in that year, and from time to time
he has made additional purchases until he now
has a fine landed estate of fifteen hundred and
twenty acres, all being located in Hanson county
and being known as the Riverview ranch, while
it is recognized as one of the finest stock farms
in this section, having the best of modern im-
provements and facilities. Mr. Hill makes a
specialty of the breeding of registered red polled
cattle, and in this line he has attained a high
reputation throughout the state and has done
much to improve the grade of cattle raised here.
In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he j
is now serving his third term as mayor of Alex-
andria. He is secretary of the Retail Imple-
ment Dealers' Association of South Dakota,
Southwestern Minnesota and Northwestern
Iowa, having held this ofifice from the time of the
organization of the association, in 1899. He and
his wife are prominent members of the Presby-
terian church, in which he is an elder, taking a
deep interest in all departments of church work.
He is affiliated with Celestial Lodge. No. 37,
Free and Accepted Masons, at Alexandria ;
Mitchell Qiapter. No. 16, Royal Arch INTasons,
in Mitchell: St. Bernard Commandery, No. 11,
Knights Templar, in this city; Oriental Con-
sistory, No. I, Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite, in Yankton ; and El Riad Temple of the
Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls, while he is also
identified with Alexandria Lodge, No. 11,
Ancient Order of LTnited Workmen.
On the 3d of September, 1890, was solem-
nized the manage of Mr. Hill to Miss Ida Kel-
logg, of Wayne county, Iowa, and they are the
parents of five sons, Joseph L., W. Braden,
Emorv K., Lawrence M. and Robert D.
LEWIS V. SCHNEIDER, one of the most
prominent and highly honored business men of
Salem, McCook county, was born in La Crosse,
Wisconsin, on the 28th of December, i860, being
a son of Joseph and Frances (Ringl) Schneider,
of whose children eight are living at the present
time. The father of the subject was born in
Austria, where he was reared to maturity, there
learning the trade of cabinetmaking. As a young
man he emigrated to the United States, and
passed a number of years in the state of New
York, where he followed the vocation of carpen-
ter and builder. About 1855 he came west to
La Crosse, Wisconsin, as one of the pioneers of
the place, and there he followed contracting and
building for some time, also devoting no little at-
tention to work as a millwright, through which
association he was finally led to engage in the
milling business. In 1890 he sold his milling
interests in Sheldon, Minnesota, where he had
resided for a number of years, and came to
South Dakota to pass his declining days with his
sons. He died in October, 1897, at the age of
sixty-seven years. His widow now resides with
her daughter, Mrs. Frances Roop, of Salem,
this state. Joseph Schneidei* was a Democrat in
politics, but was not deflected from its orginal
principles by the heresy of free silver. He was
a member of the Lutheran church, as is also his
widow, -who was born in Austria.
The subject of this review secured his -early
educational raining in the common schools of
the pioneer epoch in Wisconsin, having attended
school in a little log building of the most primi-
tive type. .\t the age of thirteen years he se-
cured a position in a general store at La Crosse.
Wisconsin, working the first year for his board
and clothing and being thereafter advanced in
salarv from year to year, as his value increased.
He retained this clerical position seven years and
then, in the spring of i88t, came to the territory
of Dakota, being one week en route. His finan-
cial resources were represented in the sum of
about five hundred dollars, which he hid saved
from his earnings, and after returning to La-
Crosse to make a final settlement of his affairs
preliminary to taking up his permanent aliode in
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1095
what is now South Dakota, he returned to Sioux
Falls, in May, 1881, driving through from Valley
Springs, where the railway train had been com-
pelled to stop, by reason of the damage done to
the roadbed by heavy storms. He finally reached
his destination, having been compelled to ford
numerous swollen streams and to encounter other
annoying obstacles. Upon his arrival he entered
the employ of Frank Kunerth, a prominent gen-
eral merchant of Sioux Falls and one who stands
high in Masonic circles. In December, 1881, Mr.
Schneider engaged in business on his own respon-
sibility, entering into partnership with P. L. Run-
kel, and coming to Salem. Here they erected a
store building and on the 27th of the following
March formally opened the same for business,
having a stock of general merchandise. The en-
terprise prospered and in June, 1889, Mr.
Schneider purchased his partner's interest and
soon afterward admitted his brother Henry to
partnership, while in 1890 liis brother Joseph also
became a member of the firm. On the 2d of
March. 1899, to meet the exigencies of the con-
stantly increasing business, the firm was incor-
porated as the Schneider Brothers' Company, un-
der which title the business has since been con-
I , tinned, the esablishment of the company being
one of the best equipped department stores in
this section of the state and commanding a large
and widely extended trade throughout the sur-
rounding country. In addition to a full and select
line of general merchandise the company also
conduct an extensive trade in the handling of
farming implements and machinery, this depart-
ment having been an adjunct of the business since
1882. while in the connection it may be noted
that our subject sold the first binder ever sold
in the county. In 1892 Mr. Schneider was prom-
inently concerned in the organization of the
AlcCook State Bank, of Salem, of which he was
chosen president, retaining this office until 1897,
when he disposed of his interest in the institution.
In 1895, in company with his two brothers, he
purchased the Salem flouring mill, and in 1892
they established in connection with the same a
modern heating and electric-lighting plant, sup-
plying public facilities in these lines, and at that
time they effected the organization of a stock
company, known as the Salem Milling, Lighting
and Heating Company, under which corporate
title the enterprise has since been successfully
conducted. Since its organization Mr. Schneider
has served as its president.
Since 1896 Mr. Schneider has been aligned
with the Republican_ party, while prior to that
time he was a sound-money Democrat. In 1896
he was persuaded to accept the nomination of the
Republican party for state senator from his dis-
trict, but met defeat in the Democratic landslide
which prevailed in this section in that campaign.
In 1888 he was chairman of the Democratic cen-
tral committee of his county, and later served as
councilman and mayor of Salem. He and his
wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
He is a prominent and valued member of the
Masonic fraternity in the state, and was a mem-
ber of the building commitee which had the su-
pervision of the erection of the fine Masonic tem-
ple in Yankton, being also a member of the board
of trustees, as is he at the present time. His Ma-
sonic affiliations are briefly noted as follows : For-
titude Lodge, No. 73, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons ; Chapter No. 34, Royal Arch Masons ;
Constantine Commandery, No. 2, Knights Tem-
plar ; Oriental Consistory, No. i, Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he has attained
the thirty-second degree ; and EI Riad Temple,
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine. He also holds membership in Salem
Lodge, No. 106, Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows ; the Knights of the Maccabees and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.
On the 28th of August, 1883. Mr. Schneider
was united in marriage to Miss Emma Jehlen,
of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and they have one child,
Mae.
WESLEY DOLTGLASS, engaged in the
drug business in Menno, is a native of the prov-
ince of Ontario, Canada, where he was born on
the 30th of January, 185 1, being a son of Robert
and Jane (McGiin Douglass, of whose nine
children only four are now living, namely : Alex-
1096
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ander, who is engaged in the real-estate busi-
ness in Winnipeg, Canada; Elizabeth, who is the
widow of John Sproat and resides in Ontario,
Canada; John, who is a physician in the city of
Chicago; and Wesley, who is the subject of this
review. Robert Douglass was born in the state
of New York, where he was reared on a farm,
and as a young man he removed to the province
of Ontario, Canada, where the later years of his
life were passed in agricultural pursuits, his
death there occurring in 1888, at the age of
eighty-four years. He was a man of strong
individuality and well-fortified opinions, and
loyal to his native land. He was a zealous advo-
cate of the principles of the Whig party and an
advocate of reform measures in the land of his
adoption, while his religious faith was that of
the Wesleyan Methodist church. He was of
stanch old Scottish ancestry, his grandfather
having come to the United States from Scotland
during the war of the Revolution, arriving about
the time of the historic "Boston tea party." The
mother of the subject died in 1895, aged eighty-
seven years.
Wesley Douglass received his educational
training in the common schools of his native
province, remaining at the parental home dur-
ing the major portion of the time until he had
attained the age of twenty years, prior to which
he had been employed for a time in a drug store
and in the office of his brother Robert, who was
then engaged in the practice of medicine in
Canada. In 1871, at the age noted, our subject
came over "into the states," making his way to
■Kansas where he remained about two years, hav-
ing been engaged in teaching school and in
working in the office of the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Railroad. He then returned to Canada,
where he tarried one year, operating for the
Grand Trunk Railroad, and in the spring of
1874 he became numbered among the pioneers
of what is now the state of South Dakota, com-
ing to Hutchinson county and entering home-
stead and timber claims a few miles northwest
of the present town of Scotland. He resided on
his farm about four years, in the meanwhile
doing some freighting to the' Black Hills and
teaching school during the winter terms for twa
years. In the fall of 1878 Mr. Douglass was
elected sheriff of Hutchinson county, being
chosen as his own successor in 1880, and thus
serving four consecutive years. After the ex-
piration of his second term he removed to the
village of Scotland, where he was employed dur-
ing the ensuing year as operator in the telegraph
office of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
Railroad. In January, 1884, he came to Menno,
where he has since resided. Shortly after locat-
ing here he established himself in the drug busi-
ness, being one of the pioneer merchants of the
town, and this enterprise he has since success-
fully conducted, having a representative patron-
age. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance,
and fraternally is a member of Scotland Lodge,
No. 53, Free and Accepted Masons.
On the 3d of February, 1878, Mr. Douglass
was united in marriage to Mrs. Caroline
(Church) Johnson, who was born in Ontario,
Canada. She had one child by her first marriage,
]\Iinnie, who is the wife of E. J. Swanton, of
Menno, and of the second union have been born
two children, Agnes J. and Gerald R., both at
the parental home.
ALBERT C. BIERXATZKI, a prominent
and successful member of the bar of 3iIcCook
county, being actively engaged in the practice of
his profession in Salem, was born in Webster
City, Iowa, on the 3d of December, i860, being a
son of Charles and Margaret (Noland) Bier-
natzki, the former of whom was born in Poland
and the latter in Ireland. The father of our
subject was reared to maturity in his native land,
and secured his educational training in the mili-
tary academy in St. Petersburg. He was there-
after commissioned a colonel in the Russian army,
but as his mother was strenuously opposed to his
continuing in the military service he resigned
his office and was appointed a member of the
government engineering corps, with the rank of
colonel. He became involved in the revolution of
1847, manifesting that distinctive loyalt\- which
was one of his dominating characteristics, and
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1097
his patriotism placed his hfe in jeopardy, so that
in that year he left his native land and came to
America, locating in Oswego, New York, where
he became identified with the shipping trade,
owning and operating two or more vessels. In
1857 he removed to Webster City, Iowa, where
he engaged in farming and live-stock enterprises,
becoming one of the prominent and influential
citizens of that section and being signally pros-
pered in his business operations. He died in
1899, at the venerable age of eighty-two years,
honored by all who knew him and recognized as
a man of fine intellectuality and sterling charac-
ter. He was a stanch Republican, and while
never ambitious for office he was an influential
factor in the councils of his party. His wife is
still living.
Albert C. Biernatzki secured his early educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of his native
place and then entered the University of Des
]\Ioines, Iowa, where he continued his studies
for two years, while in 1881 he was matriculated
in the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, where
he had simultaneously prosecuted a technical
course in the law department of the university,
in which he was graduated in 1884, with the
degree of Bachelor of Laws. In March of the
following year he took up his residence in Salem,
South Dakota, being one of the early members of
the bar of the county, and here he has ever since
been established in the active practice of his
profession, having built up an excellent business
and retaining a representative clientage, while
he has high standing at the bar of the state. He
continued to be a close and appreciative student,
and is considered one of the best read lawyers
in this section. He is a stalwart advocate of the
principles and policies of the Republcan party,
in whose cause he has been an effective worker,
and he served as county judge from 1889, until
1903, with the exception of one term, his rulings
being signally impartial, indicating not only the
possession of an intrinsically judical mind but
also a wide and intimate knowledge of the science
of jurisprudence. The Judge is a member of
Fortitude Lodge, No. 72, Free and Accepted
Masons: Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch
Masons; Constantine Commandery, No. 17,
Knights Templar, and El Riad Temple of the
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine, at Sioux Falls.
On the 7th of June, 1887, was solemnized the
marriage of Judge Biernatzki to Miss Emma Sib-
ley, of State Center, Iowa, and they are the par-
ents of one son and two daughters, Charles, Mar-
garet and Helen.
GEORGE E. MASTERS, one of the prom-
inent business men and honored citizens of Spen-
cer, McCook county, was born in Steuben county,
New York, February 26, 1853. a son of Sam-
uel and Margaret (Farrington) Masters, of
whose four children we incorporate the following
brief data : Augusta A. is the wife of C. P.
Sherwood, state dairy commissioner of South
Dakota, and they reside in DeSmet ; Jesse F. B.
is likewise a resident of that place : Genevieve
is the wife of W. G. Renwick, auditor for the
zinc syndicate and a resident of the city of Chi-
cago ; and George E. is the subject of this review.
Samuel Masters was born in New Jersey, in 1822,
and when a child accompanied his parents on their
removal to Steuben county, New York, where
he was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm,
demical education, in Ithaca, New Y''ork.
being given the advantages of an aca-
There he completed a course in civil en-
gineering, and in later years he found
his services as a surveyor in much requisition,
in connection with his agricultural operations.
In 1878 he removed with his family to Minne-
sota, and three years later came to South Da-
kota, locating in Kingsbury county, where he
took up a quarter section of government land.
He rendered efficient service as county surveyor
for a number of years and was one of the influ-
ential citizens of his section. He was a Demo-
crat in politics and was a man of impregnable
integrity and marked mentality. While a resi-
dent of Steuben county, New York, he held the
office of superintendent of schools for several
years, having also been a successful teacher and
prominent in educational work. He died in 1893,
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
having passed the psahnist's span of three score
years and ten. His widow is still living and re-
sides in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Sher-
wood, in DeSmet, being seventy-six years of age
at the time of this writing, in 1903.
George E. Masters was reared under the
gracious influences of a cultured and refined
home, and after completing the curriculum of the
public schools continued his studies for two years
in Corning Academy, at Corning, New York.
At the age of twenty-one he took a position as
clerk in a drug store in that place, where he was
employed for three years. In 1876 he set forth
to carve out his career in the west, and for two
years was employed in the city of Chicago. In
1878 he located in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in
which locality he was employed at farm work,
and there, in 1879, he was married to Miss Mar-
garet Gilmore. In the spring of the following
year he came with his bride to South Dakota,
and during the ensuing summer he was employed
in the company store of Walls, Harrison & Shute,
railroad contractors, who were then engaged in
the construction of the line between Tracy and
Pierre. In the fall of that year Mr. Masters
took a position as brakeman on this road, and in
December went to DeSmet, Kingsbury county,
in which locality he has filed entry on a tree claim
in 1879 and on a homestead in the spring of 1880,
his eldest son having been the first white child
bom in what is now the thriving little city of
DeSmet. He continued to reside on his home-
stead until 1886, duly proving on the property
under the homestead laws. Within this interval,
in 1881, he accepted a position with the Empire
Lumber Company, at DeSmet, and continued in
the employ of this concern for ten and one-half
years, while for one year he was an employe of
the firm of Hanson & Lambert, engaged in the
same line of enterprise in DeSmet. In 1893 he
associated himself with his brother Jesse in the
sheep business, in which he continued a short
time. In 1892 he was candidate on the Demo-
cratic ticket for the office of state senator, there
being three tickets in the field during that cam-
paign. He succeeded in winning sufficient Re-
publican votes to compass the election of the
Populist candidate, and though he was himself
defeated he gained no little influence in the ranks
of his party, and this led to his securing the ap-
pointment of postmaster at DeSmet, an office
which he held for four years under the adminis-
tration of President Cleveland. In the winter of
1884 there was organized in DeSmet Company E
of the National Guard of the Territory of Da-
kota, and our subject was made third sergeant
of the same, from which position he finally rose
to the office of captain. At the outbreak of the
Spanish-American war Mr. ^Masters was senior
captain of his regiment, which in 1898 tendered
its services to the government, enlisting for serv-
ice in the Philippines, where it made a brilliant
record. Mr. Masters accompanied the regiment
to Sioux Falls and there was rejected for service
on account of his physical proportions. This
was the reason ^iven but he has ever Ijeen certain
that the real cause of his rejection was one of po-
litical nature. He was, however, given the privi-
lege of naming the lieutenants of the company
over which he had so long been in command, and
his choice fell upon Harry Hubbard and Sidney
Morrison for first and second lieutenants, respec-
tively. On bidding the boys farewell the last to
grasp his hand were Lieutenant Morrison and
Lewis Chase, both of whom met their death in
the Philippines while in discharge of their patri-
otic duties.
In March, 1899, Mr. Masters accepted a posi-
tion with the John W. Tuttle Lumber Company,
as manager of their yards at Spencer, where he
has since been located, being one of the honored
and popular citizens of the place. He is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party and has long been an active worker in its
cause. While a resident of DeSmet he served
for a number of years as a member of the vil-
lage council and also as a member of the board of
education, while at the time of this writing he is
president of the board of education in Spencer.
He is affiliated with Spencer Lodge, No. 126,
Free and Accepted Masons, to which he trans-
ferred his membership from DeSmet Lodge, of
which latter he is past master, as is he also of the
lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1099
in that place. He and his wife are valued mem-
bers of the Baptist church.
Mention has been made of the fact that Mr.
Masters was married in iSyq, his nuptials hav-
insj been solemnized, in July of that year, to
Miss Margaret Gilmore, a resident of St. Charles,
Minnesota, and a native of that state. They are
the parents of nine children : Arthur, who is a
resident of Dayton, Washington ; Alexander also
resides in that place ; Vere H. is manager of the
State Bank of Farmer ; Claude is employed in a
printing establishment here ; and Juniata, Hazel,
G-enevieve, Ronald and George. Jr., remain at the
parental home.
MORRISON A. TAYLOR, M. D., of
Spencer, McCook county, was born in Clarks-
ville, Butler county, Iowa, December 2, 1857, ^
son of James R. and Hester N. (Cook) Taylor,
of whose five children he is the eldest of the
three surviving. John M., a commercial traveler
by vocation, is a resident of Mason City, Iowa,
and Rose E. is the wife of L. M. Valentine, a
prominent capitalist of that place. James R.
Taylor was born in Fairfax countv, Ohio, and
his wife was born in Fountain countv, Indiana.
The ancestry in the agnatic line is of Scotch-
Irish derivation, and the direct line is traced
back to the 3'oungest son of an English earl, he
having left the parental home and located in
Scotland, whence his descendants eventually
came to America. The Cook family is of French
Huguenot stock intermixed with German, the
original progenitors in America having come
hither from Gennany and the name having been
spelled Koch at that time. The parents of our
subject removed from Indiana to Iowa in 1853
and they still reside in Clarksville, that state,
honored pioneers of the commonwealth. Mr.
Taylor was numbered among the early settlers
of Butler county, where he purchased govern-
ment land, receiving a warrantee deed signed by
Franklin Pierce, who was then president of the
United States. He paid the purchase price in
gold, which was then the currency commonly in
use. He continued to be actively identified with
agricultural pursuits until 1902, when he re-
tired, having now attained the venerable age of
seventy-two years. He and his wife have long
been prominent and zealous members of the
Christian church, and he has also been influential
in educational work.
Dr. Taylor secured his preliminary educa-
tion in the district schools of his native county
and then completed a course in the high school
at Qarksville. At the age of nineteen he initi-
ated his pedagogic career, proving a successful
teacher. At the age of twenty-one he went to
Decorah, Iowa, where he completed a one year's
course in the institute conducted by Professor
John Breckenridge, and he thereafter continued
to teach for two years in the district schools of
his native state. In 1881 he entered the North-
ern Indiana Normal School and Businei==i Uni-
versity, at Valparaiso, Indiana, but shortly after-
ward he suffered a serious illness, which com-
pelled him to abandon his studies and return
home. He then began teaching in the public
schools of different towns and cities in Iowa,
continuing to advance in his profession and to
receive larger salaries from year to year. In
1889 the Doctor came to South Dakota, and for
three years was superintendent of the public
schools of Alexandria. In the fall of 1894 he
was matriculated in the medical department of
the State University of Iowa, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course and was graduated
in the spring of 1897, receiving the degree of
Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the practice
of his profession in Volga City, Iowa, but shortly
afterward located in Lamont. and later engaged
in practice in Waterloo, that state. In May,
1903, Dr. Taylor came to Spencer and here
established himself in practice, and he has
already gained marked prestige in his profes-
sion and controls a representative supporting
patronage, which is a due recognition of his
ability and genial personality. He is a member
of the state medical society and is examiner for
the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Com-
pany, of Milwaukee ; the Northwestern National
Life Insurance Company, of Minneapolis; and
the Bankers' Life Insurance Company, of Des
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Moines, while he also holds a similar position
with the Modern Woodmen of America, the
Mutual Benefit Association, and the Central Life
Insurance Association of Des Moines, the
Ancient Order of ' Pyramicjs, the C. C. C.
and the Modern Brotherhood of America.
He is a Republican in politics and his
religious faith is that of the Christian church.
Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of
Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, the
Ancient Order of Pyramids, the Modern Brother-
hood of America and the Mutual Benefit Associa-
tion.
On the 29th of September, 1898, Dr. Taylor
was united in marriage to IMiss Marie A. Axtell.
of Strawberry Point, Iowa, and they are the
parents of two children. Roba H. and Hester M.
WILLIAM T. ELLIS, postmaster at Salem,
McCook county, is a native of the Badger state,
having been born in Rock county, Wisconsin, on
the 2d of August, 1852, a son of Thomas and
Mary (Davis) Ellis, of whose six children he
is the third and the eldest of the three surviv-
ing. Of his brothers it may be noted that Allen
B. is engaged in the grain business at Winni-
peg, Manitoba, and that Edgar A. is engaged in
the same line of enterprise in Assiniboine,
Canada. The parents of the subject were born
in Cardiganshire, South Wales, whence the
father came to America when a young man, his
marriage being solemnized in Ohio, where his
wife had come with her parents when a girl.
Thomas Ellis was a tailor by trade, but the
sedentary employment made serious inroads on
his health and he was thus led to abandon this
vocation and turn his attention to agricultural
pursuits. About 1850 he removed from the
Buckeye state to Wisconsin, where he resided
until 1855, when he removed to Freeborn county,
Minnesota, where he initiated his operations as
a farmer, becoming one of the prosperous men
of that county, where he continued to reside
until his death, which occurred on the 13th of
September, 1874, since which time his loved
and devoted wife has made her home with the
subject of this review. Thomas Ellis was a Re-
publican in politics and his religious faith was
that of the Methodist Episcopal church, of
which his widow is likewise a devoted member.
William T. Ellis was reared on the home-
stead farm in Minnesota, and after completing
the curriculum of the district school he con-
tinued his studies in the high school at Albert
Lea, that state. At the age of twenty-one years
he engaged in teaching in the public schools, and
to this vocation he continued to give his atten-
tion at intervals for about twelve years, in Min-
nesota and South Dakota. In May, 1880, he
came to Salem, this state, and within the same
year entered a homestead claim in McCook
county, at a point four miles west of Salem. He
proved on this property and there continued to
reside for a period of six years, developing a
valuable farm. In 1888 he became associated
with his brother Allen in the erection of a store
building in Salem, and in the same they engaged
in 'the hardware business, in which they con-
tinued to be associated until May, 1901. In
1897 the subject was appointed postmaster at
Salem, taking charge of the office on the ist of
June, and he has ever since remained in tenure
of the position. At the initiation of his regime
the office was one of the fourth class, but in
1899 its business had so increased that it was
brought into the class of presidential offices, so
that Mr. Ellis received in that year his re-
appointment directly from President McKinley.
It is needless to say that he is an uncompromis-
ing Republican, and in the connection he has
done effective service in behalf of the party cause
in this section of the state. He served three
years as a member of the board of county com-
missioners, having been incumbent of the office
at the time of the erection of the present court
house. Fraternally Mr. Ellis is identified with
Fortitude Lodge, No. 73, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch
Masons ; Omega Council, No. 2, Royal and
Select Masters ; Constantine Commandery, No.
2, Knights Templar, and El Riad Temple of the
Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls. He is also af-
filiated with the local organizations of the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Knights of the Maccabees. He was the first
eminent commander of the Constantine Com-
mandery. Knights Templar, of Salem, and has
ever manifested a deep interest in the noble fra-
ternity of Freemasonry.
J. C. LAWYER, M. D.. established in the
successful practice of his profession in the town
of Spencer, McCook county, was born in Bell-
vilie, Washington county, Pennsylvania, on the
2d of January, 1862, a son of Martin and Mar-
garet (Moss) Lawver, of whose eight children
all are living save one. Martin Lawver was
born in Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsyl-
vania, as was also his father, while the grand-
father was a native of Germany, whence he came
to America in an early day, being numbered
among the sterling pioneers of the old Keystone
state. In the maternal line the Doctor traces his
ancestry back to Scotch-Irish stock. His mother
died in 1882, and his father now resides in Spen-
cer, this state, having come to South Dakota
about 1883 and purchasing land in McCook
county, where he was actively engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits until 1902, when he removed
to Spencer, where he has since lived retired.
Dr. Lawver may be said to have inherited
a certain predilection for the medical profession,
since on the maternal side of the family there
have been a number of able physicians, in the
various generations. His uncle, Jolin C. Moss,
was the inventor of the process of photo-en-
graving, in which connection his name became
known throughout the civilized world, while
several others of the Moss family attained dis-
tinction as lawyers and educators. Dr. Lawver
secured his early education in the public schools
and supplemented this by a course of study in
Waynesburg College, at Waynesburg, Pennsyl-
vania. At the early age of fourteen years he
purchased medical books and began to devote his
attention to careful study of the same, having
determined to fit himself for the medical pro-
fession. In 1882 he went to New York city to
complete his medical gtudies. In the fall of 1884
he entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical Col-
lege, in New York city, where he continued his
studies for the ensuing three years, being grad-
uated with the degree of Doctor of Medi-
cine. He then began the practice of his pro-
fession at Granville, West Virginia, where he
remained until the fall of 1891 when he was ma-
triculated in the Baltimore Medical College, in
the city of Baltimore, where he was graduated
in the spring of 1892, having thus secured the
very best of preliminary training for his exact-
ing and responsible profession. After his gradu-
ation the Doctor continued in practice at Gran-
ville for a short time, and in the fall of the same
year he came to South Dakota in search of an
eligible location. In February, 1893, he es-
tablished himself in practice in Spencer, where
his skill, devotion and personal courtesy have
been the factors which have enabled him to build
up a large and representative practice. In ad-
dition to his superior medical education which
fitted him for active duties, since he commenced
to practice twelve years ago, he has been a liberal
patron and student of most of the leading medical
books and periodical publications in this coun-
try and abroad, by means of which he has suc-
cessfully kept posted on the latest discoveries
for the cure of human afflictions and the most
skillful methods of treating them. Stacks of
medical magazines and a magnificent library of
the best medical works, representing a cost of
hundreds of dollars, attest in the most emphatic
term= to the educational qualifications of Dr.
Lawver. Among the office equipments are
nearly all the latest devices, implements and
medical appliances used in testing the condition
of the human system and for treating chronic
diseases in the most scientific way. Very few
country physicians have such a fine display of
instruments and appliances as has Dr. Lawver,
of Spencer, and this fact as well as the further
fact that he possesses superior skill in handling
them, is becoming widely known throughout
this section of the country. During the past
year the Doctor has erected a fine two-story
brick building, entirely adapted to his own use,
and it is his intention to ultimately utilize this
building as a hospital in which he can treat cases
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of every description from different parts of the
country, and give them hospital treatment at
home equal to or better than what they now go
to larger cities to obtain. He is a member of the
State Medical Society and at all times keeps in
touch witli the advances made in both branches
of his profession. In politics he renders alle-
giance to the Republican party, and fraternally is
identified with the Free and Accepted jNIasons
and the Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 2d of February, 1903, Dri Lawyer
was married to Miss Margaret Theis, of Farmer,
this state, she being a daughter of Jacob Theis
and a native of the state of South Dakota.
CHARLES P. BARRIER, who is now liv-
ing practically retired in the village of Geddes,
was born in Besancon. France, on the 12th of
June. 1833. being a son of Frederick and Kate
( Goll ) Barbiere. both of whom passed their lives
in la belle France, the former having devoted
the major portion of his life to custom office
pursuits, while he served with distinction in the
French army. This worthy couple became the
parents of nine children, of whom five are still
living, three of the number being resident of the
United States. The subject was reared to the
age of sixteen in his native land, where he re-
ceived good educational advantages, and at the
age noted, in company with his sister Louise, he
emigrated to the L^nited States. His father also
desired to come to America, but found it inex-
pedient thus to do, since his removal from the
French domain would forfeit him the pension
which he received from the government and
which was adequate for his maintenance in his
declining years. From New York city our sub-
ject mafle his way to Ohio, where he remained
about ten years, being variously employed, and
he then went to the state of Louisiana, where he
was engaged in working along the Mississippi
river for several years, finally removing to the
city of St. Louis, IMissouri, where he was em-
ployed during the years 1859 and i860 by the
American Fur Company, afterward being
located for a time in Iowa. In 1861 he came to
Dakota and secured employment with Dave
Pease, a prominent Indian trader, whose head-
quarters were on Pease creek and Pease island,
which were named in his honor. Later he en-
gaged in chopping wood to supply the steam-
boats which then plied the ]\Iissouri river to
points in Montana, where the gold excitement
was then at its height. In 1867 he took up a
homestead claim of a quarter section of land,
near the river, and in what is now Charles Mix
county. South Dakota. He improved this farm
and retained the same in his possession until
1893, when he disposed of the property, for a
consideration of one thousand dollars.
In November, 1863, l\Ir. Barbier was united
in marriage to Miss Kate Bear, a member of the
Yankton Sioux tribe of Indians, and of this
union have been born six children, concerning
whom we enter the following brief record :
Louise is the wife of Dennis ]\Ioran. who resides
in Fort Randall, being an extensive farmer;
Mary is the wife of William Sweeney, who is
an extensive farmer and stock grower on the
Yankton reservation ; Annie, who is partially
crippled, remains at the parental home ; Sophia
resides in Geddes with her parents ; Fred, who
married Miss Rose Burdean. is a successful
farmer of Charles Mix county ; and Adele, who
was the fifth in order of birth, died in early child-
hood. In politics i\lr. Barbier gives his support
to the Republican party, and he and his wife are
communicants of the Protestant Episcopal
church. He served for two years as county com-
missioner, has always taken a deep interest in
the advancement of the county and state and is
held in high esteem by all who know him. He
and his wife are the owners of two hundred
and forty acres of land on the Yankton Indian
reservation, and he gives a general supervision
to this property as well as to his other cajiital-
istic interests. Mr. Barbier has a vivid recollec-
tion of the memorable snowfall which visited the
state in the winter of 1880-81. The precipita-
tion began on the 7th of December and remained
on the ground until April 12th. The result was
the loss of much valuable live stock by starva-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
103
tion, and the subject himself suffered a loss of
more tlian one hundred head of cattle at the
time.
SOLOMON CLOUGH. one of the promi-
nent and representative farmers and stock grow-
ers of Charles Mix county, is a native of the far
distant Pine Tree state, having been born in
Piscataquis county, Maine, on the 19th of
August, 1832, so that he lias now passed the
span of three score years and ten. He is a son
of Noah and Abigail (Oakes) Clough. who be-
came the parents of eight children, namely :
Clarissa, Bradford, Noah, Orrison. Albion,
Betsy Jane. .Solomon and John B. Of the chil-
dren those living at the present time are Orrison,
Solomon and John B. The father followed a
seafaring life for seven years, after which he
was engaged in agricultural pursuits during the
balance of his active career. The Clough family
is one whose name has long been identified with
American history, the original progenitors in the
new world having come hither from England
about four centuries ago. When our subject was
a lad of seven years his parents emigrated from
Alaine to the new state of Illinois, settling in
Winnebago county, where they remained about
four years, the father having there purchased
land for about two dollars an acre. At the ex-
piration of the period noted he disposed of his
Illinois farm and settled in Grant county, Wis-
consin, where he purchased government land and
developed a good farm, having been one of the
sterling pioneers of that section of the Badger
state, where both he and his wife continued to
reside until their deaths.
Solomon Clough, subject of this sketch, has
a vivid recollection of the pioneer days in Wis-
consin, where he passed his youth, assisting in
the reclaiming and cultivation of the home farm
and attending the common schools until he was
about eighteen years of age. In 1854 he was
united in marriage to Miss Frances Shaw, who
was born in Illinois, and the one child of this
union survived its birth by only a few days. The
subject continued to follow agricultural pursuits
in Wisconsin from the time of his marriage until
1890, when he came to South Dakota, having
previously disposed of his farm in Grant county,
Wisconsin, for a consideration of fifteen dollars
an acre. Upon arriving in Charles Mix county
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of
the valuable land in the Missouri river valley,
paying for the same at the rate of six and one-
quarter dollars an acre, while he also took up a
homestead claim of eighty acres. He now is the
owner of a fine landed estate of two hundred and
forty acres, the same having excellent improve-
ments of a permanent nature and being main-
tained under a high state of cultivation. In
politics Mr. Clough pronounces himself a Jef-
fersonian Democrat and an Abraham Lincoln
Republican, and he holds that the two terms are
synonymous. He served for six years as treas-
urer of his school district and has done all in
his power to forward the educational interests of
the district. He and his wife are members of
the R. G. Ingersoll church.
J. E. HAMAKER, one of the leading busi-
ness men and honored citizens of Spencer,
McCook county, comes of stanch German lineage
and was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, on
the 28th of February, 1849, ^ son of Adam and
Hannah (Grubb) Hamaker, both likewise native
of that county and representatives of old and hon-
ored families of the Keystone state. Adam Ha-
maker was a wheelwright by trade and devoted
his attention to the same for a number of years,
later engaging in agricultural pursuits. In 1857
he removed with his family to Ogle county, Illi-
nois, where he became a successful farmer and
prominent citizen, his death there occurring in
1892, his wife passing away in 1901.
The subject of this sketch secured his early
education in the common schools of Pennsylvania
and Illinois, and as a youth he became identified
with the great basic art of agriculture, to which
he continued to give active allegiance until 1892.
In the spring of 1880 Mr. Hamaker came to South
Dakota and took up a homestead claim in McCook
county and a tree claim in Miner county. He
II04
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
made excellent improvements on both of these
properties and continued to reside on his fine
homestead until 1892, when he took up his resi-
dence in Spencer. In 1894 he here established
himself in the furniture and undertaking busi-
ness, in which he has since continued.
In politics Mr. Hamaker is an uncompromis-
ing advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party. In 1891 he was elected a member of the
state legislature from his district, being one of the
historic "faithful twenty-five," and making a cred-
itable record as a conscientious and able legisla-
tor. He served several years as a member of the
Democratic central committee of McCook county,
and has been a member of the state central com-
mittee since 1902. Fraternally he is affiliated
with Spencer Lodge, No. 126, Free and Accepted
Masons, and Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch
Masons.
On the 29th of December, 1881, Mr. Hamaker
was united in marriage to Miss Rosa B. Jarver,
of Ogle county, Illinois, no children having been
born of the union.
STANLEY B. DICKINSON, M. D., is one
of the able and popular young members of the
medical profession in the state, being success-
fully engaged in practice in Watertown, and be-
ing held in high regard in professional, business
and social circles. The Doctor is a native of
the state of Michigan, having been born in Ben-
ton Harbor, Berrien county, on the i6th of April,
1871. He is a son of Joseph and Hannah A.
(Davis) Dickinson, the former of whom was
born in the state of Michigan and the latter in
New York. Joseph Dickinson became one of the
successful fruit growers in the famous peach belt
of Michigan, was a man who commanded une-
quivocal confidence and esteem, and died at his
home in Benton Harbor in 1888, at the age of
fifty-five years, his wife being' still a resident of
that place. The paternal grandfather of the sub-
ject was Robert Dickinson, who was born in Eng-
land, whence he came to America as a young
man.
Dr. Dickinson received his early educational
training in the public schools of his native place
and then entered the Northern Indiana Business
Institute, in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1890. The
following three years he was engaged in manag-
ing a fruit farm in his native county, and at the
expiration of this period entered the medical de-
partment of the State University of Illinois, es-
tablished in the city of Chicago, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course and was graduated
as a member of the class of 1897, having passed
the intervening summers in further technical
study, under the preceptorship of Dr. John Bell,
of Benton Harbor. After his graduation, with
the degree of Doctor of Medicine, he held for a
short time a position as interne in West Side Hos-
pital, in Chicago, thus gaining farther and valu-
able clinical experience. He was thereafter en-
gaged in the practice of his profession in Chicago
for four years, at the expiration of which, in 1901,
he came to South Dakota and opened an office in
Watertown. where by his energy, ability, devo-
tion to his profession and gracious personality
he has built up a most gratifying and successful
practice. While in Chicago he was for three
years clinical instructor on diseases of children
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, while
he also acted as medical examiner for the New
York Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Pru-
dential, of Newark, New Jersey, and other lead-
ing companies, as well as fraternal insurance or-
ders. In politics the Doctor is an uncompromis-
ing Republican, taking a lively interest in the
questions and issues of the hour. He is a mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and fra-
ternally is identified with the Masonic and
Pythian orders, and belongs to the District, State
and American Medical Associations.
On the 26th of September, 1900, Dr. Dickin-
son was united in marriage, in the city of Chi-
cago, to Miss Nellie C. Shurtleflf, who was born
and reared in that city, being a daughter of Bar-
zella M. and Mary Ellen (Sibley) Shurtleflf. the
former of whom was born in Illinois and the
latter in Vermont. Mr. Shurtleflf has been for
many years a prominent commission merchant in
Chicago. The Sibleys are of a prominent old
S. B. DICKENSON, M. D.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
family of New England, and related to that re-
doubtable Revolutionary hero, General Israel
Putnam. Laura Bridgeman, the famous blind
mute, is also a relative of the family. Mrs.
Dickinson is a member of the Woman's Club and
is prominent in local social circles, being an ac-
complished musician and a woman of gracious
refinement. They have one son, Robert Sibley
Dickinson.
SUTTON E. YOUNG, a resident of Aurora
county, is a native of the old Buckeye state, hav-
ing been born in Hiram, Portage county, Ohio,
•on the 23d of September, 1847, ^ son of Erastus
M. and Christina (Allyn") Young, both of whom
were representatives of sterling pioneer families
of Ohio. The father was born in 1813, while
"his death occurred in 1891, his life having been
devoted to fanning and to contracting and build-
ing. His wife died in 1899, at the age of seventy-
seven >-ears, and of their three children the sub-
ject of this sketch and his brother. Dr. Clark
M. Young, a professor in the University of
South Dakota, are now living.
Sutton E. Young was reared to the sturdy
discipline of the farm and his early educational
training was received in the public schools, after
which he continued his studies in Hiram College,
Ohio, where he was graduated as a member of
the class of 1871. Thereafter he was for five
years superintendent of the public schools of
Kenton. Ohio. In the meantime he had given
careful attention to the study of law, securing
admission to the bar of Ohio in 1875. He served
as prosecuting attorney of Hardin county, Ohio,
for one term and later represented the same
countv in the legislature of the state. In 1881
Mr. Young came to the territory of Dakota and
accepted the superintendency of the public
schools of Sioux Falls, remaining in that posi-
tion until 1884 and gaining a high reputation
as one of the able educators of the state. Later
"he was successfully engaged in the practice of
law in Sioux Falls. He was elected a member
of the first legislature of the state of South
Dakota in 1889, and had the distinction of being
chosen the first speaker of the house of repre-
sentatives. In 1891 he returned with his family
to Ohio, where they remained four years, during
which time his sons were attending college at
Hiram, Ohio. He then returned to South Da-
kota and passed the ensuing two years in Rapid
City, in the Black Hills, after which he again
took up his residence in Sioux Falls, where he
remained until 1901, and was then appointed
superintendent of the State Reform School at
Plankinton, which position he now holds. Mr.
Young is a stanch advocate of the principles and
policies of the Republican party and has been
an effective worker in its cause and one of the
leading campaign speakers in the state.
On the nth of May. 1874, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Young to Miss Emma
Stickney, daughter of Cleveland and Abigail
(Abbott) Stickney, of Medina county, Ohio.
Mrs. Young is a graduate of Oberlin College,
Ohio, and has always been prominently identified
with educational and philanthropic work. At
the time of her marriage she was principal of the
high school of Kenton, Ohio. She has also taught
in the Sioux Falls high school and in the Sioux
Falls College. Mrs. Young has written much
on educational themes and at present has
editorial charge of the Reform School Item.
There are three children in the family, concern-
ing whom we enter the following brief record :
.A.llyn A. completed a course of study in his
father's alma mater. Hiram College, in Ohio,
and then entered the University of Wisconsin, at
Madison, to take a post-graduate course, and
received the doctor's degree in 1902. He is now
professor of economics in the Western Reserve
University, in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Evan
E. was educated in Hiram College and in the
South Dakota State School of Mines, at Rapid
City. When the First South Dakota Regiment
was organized for service in the Spanish-
American war he entered the regiment as sec-
ond lieutenant of Company M, of Rapid City.
He served with the regiment in all its campaigns
in the Philippines and was promoted to a first
lieutenancy and made adjutant of the regiment.
When the regiment returned home to be mus-
[io6
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
tered out. Lieutenant Young remained in the
Philippines and accepted a commission as cap-
tain in the Eleventh Cavalrs', United States Vol-
unteers. He was appointed adjutant of the regi-
ment and served about eighteen months until the
regiment was mustered out March 13, igoi. He
then declined a commission as first lieutenant of
cavalry. United States army, to enter the law
school of the University of Wisconsin. He
graduated in the law course in June, 1903, and
immediately began the practice of law at Sioux
Falls. Gertrude, the youngest of the three chil-
dren, is now a student in the University of Wis-
consin.
WILLIAM MOORE, who is one of the
owners and operators of the Armour Roller
Mills at Armour, Douglas county, is a native of
the province of Ontario, Canada, having been
born in the town of Athens, on the loth of May,
1857, a son of Mark and Ann Moore. He re-
ceived his educational discipline in the excellent
schools of his native province, where he was en-
gaged in business until the year 1881, when he
came to the Lfnited States and located in the
city of Cleveland, Ohio, where he resided for two
years, at the expiration of which, in 1883, he
came to Douglas county. South Dakota, where
he established himself in the hardware and agri-
cultural-implement business in the town of
Grand View, moving to Armour later and be-
coming one of the early merchants of the place
and building up a most successful enteqjrise,
while he secured a firm hold on the confidence
and esteem of the community, so that his busi-
ness increased in scope and importance with the
development and growth of the village and
county. In the year igoi Mr. Moore disposed
of this business and shortly afterward purchased
an interest in the Armour Roller Mills, of which
he assumed the active management at the time.
The output of the mills finds a ready demand
in the market, and its products are sold through-
out the state, the special brands of flour manu-
factured being the Fancy Patent, the White
Rose and the Headlight, all of which have at-
tained a high reputation through South Dakota,
being held equal to any brands to be found in
any section of the L'nion. The mills have been
equipped with the most modern and improved
macliinery and accessories, and the most scrupu-
lous care is given to every detail of operation,
the daily capacity being for the output of fifty
barrels. Through the indefatigable efforts and
able administrative powers of Mr. Moore the
scope of the business has been greatly expanded,
and the enterprise is one which is highly appre-
ciated and which contributes largely to the in-
dustrial prestige of the attractive town of
Armour. Mr. Moore is a stanch advocate of
the principles and policies of the Democratic
party, and is at the present time a valued mem-
ber of the village council. Fraternally he is
identified with Arcania Lodge, No. 97, Free and
Accepted Masons, of Armour, South Dakota;
Mitchell Qiapter, No. 16, Royal Arch Masons,
and St. Bernard Commanderv-, No. 11. Knights
Templar, the latter two affiliations being with
the respective bodies in the city of Mitchell.
On the 3d of June, 1891, Air. Moore was
united in marriage to Miss Hattie E. Long, of
Cleveland, Ohio, and they are the parents of
two fine sons, William A. and Lucius Wells,
aged ten and seven, respectively.
BYRON P. JONES, of Prosper township,
Davison county, was born on a farm in Rensse-
laer county. New York, on the 25th of February,
1855, being the youngest of the three children of
Augustus and Margaret (Jones) Jones. His
sister, Eudora, is now the wife of N. H. Dum-
bolton, of Rockford, Iowa, and his brother,
James Irving, is a resident of Rockford, Iowa.
When the subject was twelve years of age his
parents removed to Wisconsin, and in 1868 they
t(xik up his residence in Floyd county, Iowa,
where they passed the remainder of their lives.
The educational advantages aflforded the sub-
ject were somewhat limited, being confined to
a somewhat irregular attendance in the common
schools of New York and Wisconsin. He was
thirteen years of age at the time of the removal
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
to Iowa, and there he continued to make his
home until he had attained manhood, being en-
o-agcd in farm work during the intervening
years.
In 1879 he came as a pioneer to Soutli Da-
kota, taking up a homestead claim of one hundred
and sixty acres, in what is now Prosper town-
ship, Davison county, and later securing a pre-
emption claim of equal area, the two tracts con-
stituting his present farm, the major portion of
whicli he has brought under a high state of
cultivation, while he has erected a substantial
dwelling and other good buildings, constructed
fences about the place and otherwise brought it
up to a model status. He is a Republican in
politics and is known as a loyal and public-
spirited citizen. Fraternally he is a member of
the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and
both he and his wife are valued members of the
Presbyterian church, in whose work they take a
zealous interest.
On the 21 St of March, 1881, J\Ir. Jones was
united in marriage to Miss Huldah Emma Colby,
who was born and reared in Illinois and who
was a resident of Rockford county, Iowa, at the
time of her marriage, being a daughter of Eben
and Mary Cnlliy. Of this union have been born
five children, all of whom are living, namely:
Margie, Blanche, :\lay, Ethel and Ella.
OLR'ER P. AULD, one of the represent-
ative business men of Plankinton, Aurora county,
is a native of the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania,
where he was born on the 20th of March, 1855,
and when he was a child of two years his par-
ents removed westward to Benton count^^ Iowa,
where he was reared to maturity, his educational
training having been received in the public
schools of Iowa and Illinois. At the age of
seventeen years he left school and initiated his
independent career, having been engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits for a few years thereafter in
Iowa, after which he engaged in the mercantile
business in Vinton, that state, conducting the
enterprise for three years, at the expiration of
which, in 1883. he came to the territory of
Dakota and took up his residence in Plankinton,
Aurora county, where he established a general
mercantile business, building up an excellent
trade and devoting his attention to the same for
four years. He then disposed of his interests in
the line and engaged in the abstract business, in
which he has ever since continued, having a rep-
resentative support and being thoroughly equip-
ped for the facile handling of all work involved,
while he is known as an expert in the line and as
one of the best judges of realty values in this
section of the state. In the real-estate depart-
ment of his business he has handled most valu-
able properties in various sections of the state,
showing marked discrimination in his operations
and being recognized as one of the reliable and
straightforward real-estatt men of the state,
while upon his books are always to be found
details in regard to most desirable investments.
He is at the present time rendering eflfective
service as receiver of the Bank of Plankinton.
which went into liquidation in 1900. In politics
he is stanchly aligned in support of the principles
and policies of the Re])ublican party, in whose
interests he has been an active worker, having
frequently been a delegate to county and state
conventions. For ten years he was chainnan of
the board of county commissioners, while for
four years he was incumbent of the office of
president of the village council, ably managing
and directing the executive department of the
nnmicipal government, while he has also held
other village offices, ever manifesting a marked
loyalty and public spirit and being one of the
representative citizens of the county. He and
his wife are prominent and valued members of
the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 4th of October, 1883, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Auld to Miss Nellie Hoon,
of Vinton, Iowa, and they are the parents of four
children, Clarence, Leslie, Glenn and Nellie.
GEORGE T. CHANDLER, one of the pro-
gressive agriculturists and stock growers of
Douglas county, was born in Fayette county,
Ohio, on the ist of November, 1847, being a son
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of Howell and Martha (Pace) Chandler. Both
parents were born in Virginia, being represent-
atives of old and prominent families of the Old
Dominion state. Representatives in both the
paternal and maternal lines took part in the war
of the Revolution, as well as that of 1812, in
which latter the paternal grandfather of the
subject served as quartermaster. Two of the
brothers of the subject were valiant defenders of
the Union in the war of the Rebellion. William
S. went to the front as a member of the Second
Massachusetts Cavalry, while H. T. was a mem-
ber of Company A, Thirty-fourth Iowa Volun-
teer Infantry, while five cousins were members
of the Third Iowa Cavalry during the same great
conflict through which the Union was preserved.
The honored father of Mr. Reed, who was a
miller by profession, died in i8g8, aged eighty
years, while the mother died in 1881, aged sixty-
seven years.
George T. Chandler was, a child of eight
years at the time when his parents removed from
Ohio to Iowa, locating on a farm in Decatur
county, where he received his educational train-
ing in the public schools, continuing his studies
until he had attained the age of eighteen years,
after which he devoted his attention to the man-
agement of a portion of his father's farm until
1880, when he secured a farm of his own in
Decatur county, Iowa, where he continued to
reside until 1882, when he came to what is now
the state of South Dakota and became one of the
pioneers of Douglas county. Here he filed claim
to a quarter section, where he has since made
his home, having inade excellent improvements,
erecting good buildings, and he has brought the
place under a high state of cultivation, his landed
estate in the county now comprising one hundred
and sixty acres, while in addition to securing
large yields of the cereals and other products
commonly raised in this section he devotes no
little attention to the breeding and raising of
high-grade cattle, swine and horses. He is alert
and progressive in his business methods and has
attained marked success, while he holds the
confidence and esteem of the people of the com-
munity in which he has so long made his home, i
In politics he is an uncompromising advocate of
the principles of the Democratic party, and has
been an active worker in its behalf, having been
a potent factor in securing to the same note-
worthy victories in Douglas county, though he
has never been ambitious for personal prefer-
ment in a political way. He has served, how-
ever, for six }ears as a member of the school
board of his district, and is always relied upon
to lend his aid and influence in support of all
measures tending to advance the general wel-
fare. He is a member of Armour Lodge, No.
25, Knights of Pythias, at Armour, being past
chancellor of the same, while he has represented
his lodge as delegate to the grand lodge of the
state. He is also identified with the Knights
of the Maccabees.
On the 25th of October. 1868, Mr. Chandler
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ellen
Chambers, who was born in Jefferson county,
Iowa, on the 2d of December, 1847, being a
daughter of Daniel and Eliza (Breniman) Cham-
bers, her father having been a pioneer farmer
of the county mentioned. He now resides in
Kansas, having attained the patriarchal age of
eighty-seven years, and having been afflicted
with blindness for the past fifteen years. His de-
voted wife was summoned into eternal rest in
1894, at the age of seventy-eight years. Mr. and
Mrs. Chandler are the parents of four children,
all of whom remain at the parental home,
namely: Marion Austin, Thomas M., Howell
Francis and Cora E.
JAMES GURNAL JONES, one of the pio-
neers of Charles Mix county, is a native of the
old Empire state of the Union, having been born
on a farm in Oneida county. New York, on the
2ist of April, 1851, a son of William J. and Ann
fWheldon) Jones. The grandparents of the
subject were born in Wales, whence they emi-
grated to the United States about the year 1812,
locating in the state of New York, where they
passed the remainder of their lives. The father
of our subject was born in Oneida county. New
York, and became a prominent farmer near
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Utica, Oneida county, where he died in 1877.
James G. Jones received his early educational
discipline in the common schools and in an
academy at Rome, New York, while he has ever
been a wide reader and student of affairs, and
is a man of broad and exact information, hav-
ing supplemented his early training by system-
atic personal application. He continued to as-
sist in the work of the home farm until he had
attained the age of sixteen years, when, in 1867.
he gave rein to his spirit of adventure and came
to the west, passing five years in Texas and the
Indian territorv' and gaining much experience
in regard to life on the frontier. In 1873 he
came to what is now the state of South Dakota
and settled in Charles Mix county. In 1879.
when the county was organized. Governor How-
ard appointed Mr. Jones county commissioner,
while in the first popular election, in the fall
of the same year, he was elected register of
deeds of the county. He was re-elected in 1880,
serving for a total of three years, as the first in-
cumbent of this office. Four years later he was
chosen representative of his county in the first
constitutional convention of the south half of
the territory of Dakota, but declined to serve,
said convention having been held at Sioux Falls.
In 1887 he was elected a member of the terri-
torial legislature, serving with marked ability
and being chosen as his own successor two years
later. Prior to the organization of Charles Mix
county Mr. Jones and Major Thad S. Clarkson,
ex-commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of
the Republic, were rival candidates for the ter-
ritorial legislature, and the vote proved to be a
tie. Under these conditions Brule county, which
gave Mr. Jones a majority, was conveniently
thrown out on a technical pretext and his de-
feat was thus compassed, this being in the year
1876.
The subject was a stanch supporter of the
Republican party until the organization of the
Populist party, when he transferred his
allegiance to the same, and he has ever since
been one of the ablest and most enthusiastic
advocates of its cause in the state, while he has
been an effective worker in the promotion of its
interests. In 1893 Mr. Jones was the nominee
of his party for the state senate, but met defeat
by a narrow margin. In 1896 he was elected
enrolling and engrossing clerk of the house of
representatives. In 1898 he was again the nomi-
nee of his party for the state senate, and at this
time a gratifying majority was rolled up in his
favor, and he proved an able and valued mem-
ber of this body. In 1900 he was one of the
delegatcs-at-large from this state to the Peo-
ple's party national convention, at Sioux Falls,
which nominated Bryan for the presidency and
Towne for the vice-presidency. Mr. Jones is
a man of strong individuality and marked intel-
lectuality, being a close student of the political
and economic questions of the hour and being
ever fortified in his convictions. He is the owner
of a fine landed estate of three hundred and
twenty acres, in the Missouri valley district of
the county, and is one of the successful farmers
and stock growers of this section. Fraternally
he is identified with Doric Lodge, No. 93, Free
and Accepted Masons, at Platte, which village
is fourteen miles distant from his fine farm
home.
On the 15th of July, 1877, Mr. Jones was
united in marriage to Miss Winifred Mulleague,
who was born in County Roscommon, Ireland,
whence she came to America at the age of thir-
teen years and established her home with her
brothers and sisters in Bon Homme county,
South Dakota, where she was reared to maturity.
As before noted, she was the first white woman
to settle in Charles Mix county, where she re-
sided almost two years with her husband with-
out seeing a person of her sex and race, and
her eldest child was the first white child born in
the county. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents
of eight children, all of whom have been ac-
corded the best possible educational advantages,
their names, in order of birth, being as follows:
Whitfield, William James, Mary Laura, Gordon
Gurnal, Winifred Ann, Roscoe Conkling, Fran-
cis, Wheldon and Emma Lela. Four of the
children are successful and popular teachers in
the public schools of tlie county, namely : Whit-
field, Mary L., Gordon G. and William J.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
A. SHERIN, one of the representative
citizens of Codington county, being engaged in
the practice of law in Watertown and being also
the editor and publisher of the Watertown
Times, was born in Victoria county, province of
Ontario, Canada, on the nth of March. 1857,
and is a son of Henry and Ann Sherin, both of
whom were bom in Ireland, whence they came
to Canada with their respective parents when
thev were young. The father of the subject
became a successful farmer and both he and his
wife died in Canada.
A. Sherin, the subject of this review passed
the first sixteen years of his life on the home
farm, and received a common-school education,
completing his studies in the schools at Branch-
ton, Ontario. He early manifested a predilection
for mechanical pursuits and became a skilled
carpenter, to which line of work he devoted his
attention for eight years after leaving the
parental roof. In 1881 he came to what is now
the state of South Dakota, and in the following
year took up a pre-emption claim near the village
of Blunt. Hughes county. In 1884 he removed
to Britton. the capital of Marshall county, and
there engaged in the practice of law, for which
he had prepared himself by careful preliminary
study, being duly admitted to the bar of the ter-
ritory. He built up an excellent professional
business and there continued in practice until
1899, when he came to Watertown, where he
has since been engaged in general practice. He
was editor and publisher of the Britton Sentinel
from 1891 until his removal to Watertown, and
here he has since published and edited the Water-
town Times, one of the ably conducted and popu-
lar weekly newspapers of the state. Mr. Sherin
served as county judge in Marshall county dur-
ing the years 1895-6, and during the ensuing two
years was state's attorney of that county. He
is a Populist in his political faith and adherency,
and has been a prominent and influential figure
in the ranks of the same in South Dakota, having
done most eflfective service in the party cause.
He and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and fraternally he is identified
with the Modern Brotherhood of America, of
which he served as secretary in the local or-
ganization for two years.
In Gait, Ontario, in the year 1879, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Sherin to Miss Sarah
J. Copeland, and of their five children four are
living. Edwin J. was born in 1880; Burtie was
born in 1881 and died in 1897; Arthur was born
in 1883 : Harry in 1887 and Evaline in 1894.
ALONZO J. BUFFALOE. AI. D., estab-
lished in the successful practice of his profession
in the attractive little city of Alexandria, Hanson
county, is a native of the fine old state of North
Carolina, having been born in Raleigh. Wake
county, and being the son of B. B. and Cor-
nelia Buffaloe, representatives of old and hon-
ored southern families. The father is devoting
his life to agriculture and is a man of promi-
nence and influence in his community. Dr. Buf-
faloe was accorded excellent educational ad-
vantages in his youthful days, having secured
his preliminary discipline in the common schools
of his native state and having entered Wake
Forest College, where he received his literary
training. In the meanwhile he had determined
to prepare himself for the noble profession to
which he is now giving his attention, and was
matriculated in that celebrated technical insti-
tution of the national metropolis, Bellevue Hos-
pital Medical College, in New York city, being
there graduated in 1886 and receiving his coveted
degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his gradu-
ation, wishing to be more thoroughly equipped for
the arduous duties of his chosen profession, he
took special courses in chemistry, physical diag-
nosis, surgen,- and army and navy dressings in
Belleview and Mount Sinai Hospitals. He then
located in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina,
determined to win his professional spurs in his
native state, and there he initiated the active
practice of medicine and surgerv', being for some
time connected with the city hospital, where he
gained still further clinical experience of the
most valuable order. He continued to be there
engaged in practice until 1901. In 1895 he
availed himself for a while of the advantages of
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
the post-graduate course at the Johns Hopkins
Hospital, Baltimore, Marv'land. Dr. Buffaloe
came to South Dakota in April, 1901, and finally
became impressed with the attractions of Alex-
andria and decided to establish himself here.
He has no reason to regret his choice, for he
has met a most favorable reception, both profes-
sionally and socially, and has built up a gratify-
ing practice.
WILLIAM HENRY STOKES was born in
the town of Porter, Rock county, Wisconsin, on
the i6th of May, 1845, being the son of Charles
and Anna E. (Kimble) Stokes, the former of
whom was born in Axbridge, Somersetshire,
England, in 1812, while the latter was a native of
Saugerties, New York, being of English and
Dutch lineage. He was educated in the district
schools in Wisconsin until the age of nineteen,
finishing with one term in a select school at
Mitchell, Mitchell county. Iowa. His early life
was spent on the farm. His business life began
]May 16, 1866. He was associated with his
brothers in the sawmill and lumber business until
the spring of 1872. From 1872 until the present
time, 1904, he has been interested with various
parties in the milling business, ten years in
Janesville, Waseca counts', Minnesota, and the
remainder of the time up to the present date in
the milling and grain business at Watertown,
South Dakota. At present he is president and
manager of the W. H. Stokes Milling Company,
while his son-in-law, F. E. Hawley, is the sec-
retary and treasurer.
The old milling plant, built in 1882 at Water-
town, South Dakota, was destroyed by fire March
13, 1901, and the summer following the fire the
present substantial mill and elevator plant was
erected on the same site, business being resumed
on December 19, 1901. The W. H. Stokes Mill-
ing Company's mill and elevator are decidedly
the largest and most modern in the state. The
brick elevator and steel tanks have a capacity of
one hundred and forty thousand bushels and are
practically fireproof. The subject of this sketch
has also been largely interested in farming, now
owning and controlling something over five
thousand acres of land, most of which is in Cod-
ington county. South Dakota.
W. H. Stokes is recognized as one of the
leading business men of the state and at the
present time is found worthy of having his name
enrolled in the Financial Red Book of x-Vmcrica
for 1903.
Mr. Stokes was married to Miss Elsie Mi-
nerva Grout on December 23, 1872. She was born
at York, Wisconsin, September 18, 1853, being
the daughter of Leroy and Cordelia (Flower)
Grout, the former of whom was born at Vermont
and the latter in the state of New York. Nine
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stokes.
Their names are: Ella Glencora, wife of F. E.
Hawley; Gladys May, Maud Leonore, Alice
Wilhelmena, Elsie Minerva, William Henry, Jr.,
Louisa Alcott, Anna Kimble and Philip Doug-
las, all of whom are now living. Mr. and Mrs.
Stokes and six of their children are members of
the Congregational church. Mr. Stokes is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with
the Kampeska Lodge, No. 13, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons ; Watertown Chapter, No. 12,
Royal Arch Masons, and Watertown Command-
ery. No. 7, Knights Templar. He served as
eminent commander of the commanderv for two
years.
Politically Mr. Stokes has always been a Re-
publican, although he has never aspired to any
political office or influence.
CLINTON D. HOSKIN, who is the pres-
ent popular and able incumbent of the office of
register of deeds of Hand county, claims the
fine old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity,
having been born in the county of Ashtabula,
Ohio, on the 29th of October, 1867, and being
a son of Hilan J. and Nancy (George) Hoskin,
who were likewise born in that state. The sub-
ject is the elder of their two children, his sister
Maud being now the wife of A. R. Hannum, of
Hand county, South Dakota, while his parents
are residents of Huron, South Dakota. When
Clinton D. was but two years of age his parents
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
removed to Wheatland, Qinton county, Iowa,
where his father engaged in teaming, and seven
years later they removed to Buena Vista county,
that state, where the father turned his attentioh
to farming. The subject secured his educational
training in the public schools of the Hawkeye
state, where he was reared to maturity, and in
1884, at the age of sixteen years, he came to
Hand county. South Dakota, where his father
took up a homestead claim, in Gilbert township,
and here he turned his attention to farming, in
which he was engaged until his election to his
present office.
Mr. Hoskin has given a stanch allegiance to
the Republican party from the time of attaining
his majority, has evinced a lively interest in pub-
lic affairs of a local nature and been a prominent
worker in the party cause. He served as treas-
urer of his school district for a period of thir-
teen years, and in the fall of 1902 was elected to
the office of register of deeds of Hand county,
for a term of two years, assuming his official
functions in January. 1903. He is well known
in the county, and his personal popularity is at-
tested by his having been chosen to fill his pres-
ent office. Fraternally he is identified with St.
Lawrence Lodge, Ancient Order of United
Workmen, in St. Lawrence.
On the 29th of October, 1889, Mr. Hoskin
was united in marriage to Miss Florence A.
Scovill, daughter of B. P. Scovill, a prominent
farmer of this county. She was born in !\Iason
county. Illinois, and was twelve years of age at
the time of her parents' removal to South Da-
kota. Mr. and Mrs. Hoskin have four children,
Mabel I., Hilan J., Mina F. and Benjamin P.
NICK KIRSCH, a farmer and stock raiser
of Codington county, whose homestead lies at
Gardner, about five miles northeast of Water-
town, is a native of Germany, born in Luxem-
borugh on February 9, 1859. He is one of a
family of six children, two sons and four daugh-
ters, whose parents were Michael and Maggie
Kirsch, natives of Luxembourg, as were the
antecedents of both branches of the familv for
many generations. Michael Kirsch, in 1880,
brought his family to the United States and set-
tled in Minnesota, where he lived until 1882, at
which time he removed to Codington county.
South Dakota, his present place of residence.
The subject of this review grew to young
manhood in his native country, received a fair
education in the public schools and in 1880 ac-
companied his parents to the new world, remain-
ing with them until their removal to Dakota. In
1882 he took up a homestead in Kreuzberg town-
ship, Codington county, and after residing on
the same for a period of five years, sold out and
purchased his present beautiful place in Elmira
township, consisting of five hundred and sixty
acres of fine land, admirably situated for agri-
cultural and stock purposes. In addition to
farming, which he carries on very successfully,
especially the raising of grains, Mr. Kirsch de-
votes considerable attention to live stock and
purposes ultimately to make the latter his prin-
cipal business. He now has quite a herd of
cattle, to which he is making additions as
rapidly as possible, also owns a number of valu-
able sheep and horses and the time is not far dis-
tant when he will come to the front as one of
the leading stockmen in this section of the state.
In addition to his stock and agricultural inter-
ests he runs an elevator at Gardner, near his
place, and his operations as a buyer and shipper
of grain have been eminently successful, as the
steady growth of his business abundantly at-
tests.
Mr. Kirsch is one of the progressive German-
American citizens of Codington county and his
enterprising spirit has done much for the ma-
terial advancement of the community in which
he resides. While retaining warm feelings and
tender recollections of the fatherland, he is a
loyal citizen of his adopted country and a great
admirer of its laws and institutions.
Mr. Kirsch was married November 17, 1887,
to Miss ]\Iaggie Pfeil, of Minnesota, daughter of
Christopher and Elizabeth Pfeil, natives of Ger-
many. The parents of Mrs. Kirsch came to the
United States a number of years ago and for
some time lived in St. Qiarles, Minnesota, at
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
which place the mother died on January 27,
1902. The father still lives at St. Charles. They
reared a family of eleven children, all but one
living. Mr. and Mrs. Kirsch have five bright,
interesting children, whose names are as follows :
Freddie N., Elizabeth S., Eddie D., Lena G. and
Christopher G.
GEORGE C. OSTRANDER comes of sturdy
old Dutch stock and traces his family history to
the early settlement of the Mohawk valley. New
York. His great-grandfather, William Ostrander,
was one of the Dutch pioneers of Herkimer
county, that state, took an active part in the set-
tlement and development of the valley and be-
came an influential factor in the affairs of the
community which he assisted to found. His son,
William, was a blacksmith by trade, and a man
of sturdy character and generous impulses, who
carried to successful completion any undertaking
to which he addressed himself. He married
when a young man and reared a family, repre-
sentatives of which still live in Herkimer and
neighboring counties of New York, while others
may be found in different states of the Union,
principally in the west, as the pioneer spirit has
long been a marked characteristic of the family.
A son of the second William, also William by
name, was born in New York and there married
Miss Abigail D. Eddy, whose antecedents were
also among the early settlers of the Empire state.
William and Abigail spent the greater part of
their lives in the cit}' of Watertown, New York,
where for over twenty years the former was en-
gaged in mercantile pursuits, and to them was
born one son, the gentleman whose name fur-
nishes the caption of this review.
George C. Ostrander was born October 22,
1858, in Waterto\yn, New York, and received his
educational training in the public schools of that
city. At an early age he entered his father's
store where he received a practical commercial
training and assisted in conducting the business,
until about twenty years old, when he abandoned
mercantile life for the purpose of learning
telegraphy. After becoming proficient in that
calling he engaged with the Rome, Water-
town & Ogdensburg Railroad as operator
and station agent, which position he held
until 1882, when he resigned to become
a salesman for the wholesale merchant tail-
oring firm of Wiggins & Goodale at Water-
town. After remaining with the above house
for a period of four years, he resigned his place
and in 1886 came to Codington county, South
Dakota, bringing forty-four head of milch cows
with the object in view of starting a dairy and
engaging in the general stock business. In part-
nership with his father, Mr. Ostrander purchased
a fine tract of farm and grazing land, about four
and a half miles east of Watertown, in Elmira
township, where he now lives, and here success-
fully carried out his intentions by starting a
dairy which from the beginning more than met
his most sanguine expectations. In connection
with the dairy he also established a creamery,
the first enterprise of the kind in the state, and
this also proved a remunerative undertaking as
it soon had an extensive patronage and filled a
long-felt want in the community. After con-
ducting these lines of business for a few years
and realizing therefrom handsome profits, he
discontinued dairying and turned his attention to
raising grain. Convinced that larger returns
could be realized from wool than from agricul-
ture, Mr. Ostrander subsequently discontinued
tilling the soil and engaged in the sheep business,
which he now follows with success 'and financial
profit, being at tliis time one of the largest and
most successful sheep raisers in Codington
county. He is now running about eight hundred
grade Shropshires, which breed he finds best
suited to the country and by far the most re-
munerative, all things considered ; and in addi-
tion to the four hundred acres comprising his
own farm he controls about six hundred acres
of fine grazing land in the vicinity in which he
conducts his large and rapidly growing business.
Mr. Ostrander inherits the energy and pro-
gressive spirit for which his family has long been
distinguished and his industry and enterprise
have made him an influential factor in the busi-
ness affairs and public concerns of his adopted
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
county. He worthily upholds an honored an-
cestral name, is a man of wide intelligence, sound
judgment and unimpeachable integrity and the
high esteem in which he is held by his fellow
citizens shows him the possessor of those sterling
qualities of head and heart that beget confidence
and retain warm and personal friendships. In
politics he supports the Republican party and,
while not a partisan, still less an office seeker, he
was elected in 1902 a member of the board of
county commissioners, which responsible posi-
tion he worthily holds.
The domestic life of Mr. Ostrander dates from
1879, on October 22d of which year, in Water-
town, New York, was solemnized his marriage
with Miss Martha P. Heintzelman, who has
borne him two children, Mabel and William D.
Mr. Ostrander is a member of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen of Watertown. His
father is a member of the home circle at this
time, his mother having died three years ago.
THORNTON N. BABCOCK, one of the
prom.inent and successful farmers and stock
growers of Codington county, was born on the
parental homestead, Winona county, Minnesota,
on the 29th of December, 1865, and is a son of
George P. and Antoinette (Newcomb) Bab-
cock, the former of whom was bom in the state
of New York and the latter in Massachusetts,
both families having long been identified with
the annals of American history. George P. was
a carpenter and cabinetmaker by trade, and fol-
lowed the same as a vocation for many years,
having come to Minnesota in the pioneer days
and having there maintained his residence until
1880, when he removed to South Dakota, taking
up land in Codington county and there improv-
ing a good fami. He died at Tracy, Minne-
sota, on the 1st of March, 1892, while enroute
home from Minneapolis, at the age of sixty-
four years. In politics he was a stanch Repub-
lican. His widow was a devoted member of the
Presbyterian church, her death having occurred
on the 9th of June, 1899, at the age of seventy
years. They became the parents of four sons
and four daughters, all of whom are living ex-
cept the eldest, Ada, wife of J. J. Greer, who
died at the age of forty years. The others are
Libbie M., unmarried; Charley, a farmer of
Brookings county ; Lillian, wife of A. M. Nash,
of Tracy, Minnesota, a conductor on the North-
western Railroad ; Willie C, of Seattle, Wash-
ington, a conductor on the Northern Pacific
Railroad; Hobart A., county clerk at Watertown;
and Metta, wife of J. E. McKoane, of Minot,
North Dakota, in the abstract and real-estate
business, and Thornton.
The subject of this sketch received his early
educational training in the public schools of
Lanesboro, Fillmore count\% [Minnesota, where
he completed a course in the high school. In
1880, at the age of fourteen years, he came to
South Dal-iota, where he gave his attention to
farm work and to teaching in the district schools
until 1883. Thereafter he remained on his
father's farm, taking charge of the same after
the death of the latter and still residing on the
homestead, which now comprises one hundred
and sixty acres, and which is located in Fuller
township, eight miles northwest of Watertown,
two miles north of Lake Ivampeska. In addition
to the homestead Mr. Babcock controls and
utilizes about five hundi-ed acres, principally In-
dian-reservation land, and in all he has about
five hundred acres under effective cultivation
and devoted to diversified agriculture, while he
also gives special attention to the raising of live
stock, in which line he has gained marked prec-
edence and met with distinctive success. His
cattle are of high grade, and he has some pure-
bred shorthorn stock in the line, while he also
breeds the best type of Percheron and road
horses and Berkshire hogs. He is associated with
others in the ownership of a fine thoroughbred
Percheron stallion, of which he has the manage-
ment. In politics Mr. Babcock gives an unfaltering
allegiance to the Republican party, and he served
for two terms as clerk of his township, while
he has been a valued member of the school board
for twelve years. Fie is a Methodist, while his
wife belongs to the Baptist church. Fraternally
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1 1 15
he is identified with the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.
On the 3d of January, 1899, ^'I''- Babcock
was united in marriage to Miss Carlotta A.
Hewitt, a daughter of C. P. and Amiinta
(Straub) Hewitt, of Watertown, her birth hav-
ing occurred in Calamus, Clinton county, Iowa.
Of this union have been born two children,
Bruce A. and Doris.
AUGUSTUS C. GIESE, farmer, stock
raiser and representative citizen of Elmira town-
ship, Codington county, is a native of Sauk
county, Wisconsin, where his birth occurred on
the 3d day of February, 1869. His parents,
John M. and Albertina (Yerkley) Giese, natives
of Germany, came to the United States a number
of years ago and after residing for some time in
Wisconsin caine, in the fall of 1879, to Coding-
ton county, being among the early settlers of
what is now the township of Rauville. They
located on government land which they entered,
improved a good farm and the elder Giese is
now among the prosperous and well-to-do men
of the community, now living in Watertown.
Augustus C. Giese was a lad of ten years
v\-hen his parents came to Dakota and from that
age to the present has been a resident of Coding-
ton county, growing with the country's growth,
taking an active part in its development, and for
some years he has been an influential factor in
the agricultural and live-stock interests of Elmira
township. He received his elementary educa-
tion in his native state and for several years after
coming to Dakota pursued his studies in the
public schools, the meanwhile assisting his
father in improving the latter's homestead and
contributing his full share to the support of the
family. Reared under wholesome discipline and
healthful influence, he grew up strong in body
and with an independence of mind which early
led him to rely upon himself, and while still a
mere lad he matured plans for his future course
of action. After remaining under the parental
roof until reaching the years of young manhood,
he started out to make his own way in the world
and being so fortunate as to liave his lot cast
in a land of opportunities, it was not long until
he secured a desirable tract of land. He finally
decided upon the place in Elmira township on
which he now lives, a beautiful tract containing
a half section, which for stock-raising and gen-
eral agricultural purposes will compare favor-
ably with any like number of acres in the county.
He has greatly improved his land and brought
it to a high state of cultivation, and, in addition
to tilling the soil, he now has a substantial start
in live stock, owning a number of cattle, sheep
and horses, with most favorable prospects of
adding to his flocks and herds as well as of in-
creasing his acreage in the no distant future. He
has erected a large barn and has a desirable lo-
cation for a comfortable residence. Mr. Giese
is a young man of well-defined purposes, and his
industry and energy have already won him a
competence of sufficient magnitude to place him
in comfortable circumstances.
On September 13, 1894, Mr. Giese was
united in marriage with Miss Emma Barha,
whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. August Barha,
were among the early settlers of Codington
county. This marriage has resulted in the birth
of six children, namely : Herman ; Henry died
July 13, 1902, in his fourth year; Robert, Mabel
and an infant that died unnamed. Mr. and Mrs.
Giese are members of the Lutheran church, be-
longing to the congregation worshiping at
Watertown.
LAURENCE J. O'TOOLE, one of the rep-
resentative farmers and stock growers of Cod-
ington county, is a native of the fair Emerald
Isle, having been born on the i6th of June, i860,
and being a son of John and Marv (Dowling)
O'Toole, who were born and reared in Ireland.
The father was there engaged in farming until
his death. The subject and other members of
the family came to America in 1871, at which
time he was a lad of about eleven years, his early
educational discipline having been secured in
his native land. He was the voungest of the
three sons and two daughters in the family, and
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of that number three are Hving at the present
time. His brother Patrick had previously come
to the United States, and was a member of
Corrigan's Brigade, of New York, during the
Civil war, in which he sacrificed his life, being
killed in battle. Upon coming to the new world
the subject and the other members of the family
located in New York, where he was reared to
manhood, in the meanwhile continuing his edu-
cational work in the public schools, while in
1877 he came west and took up his abode in
the home of an aunt in Winona county, Min-
nesota, where he also attended school, remain-
ing with his aunt until 1880, when he came to
South Dakota.
Laurence was twenty years of age at the time
of casting his lot with what is now the state of
South Dakota. In 1881 he took up one hundred
and sixty acres of govern!'>nent land in Codington
county, the same constituting a portion of his
present farm. He set himself vigorously to the
work of improving his land and placing it under
cultivation, and through energy and good man-
agement he has attained a position of independ-
ence, being one of the well-to-do farmers of this
section, while he has ever maintained a strong
hold on popular confidence and esteem in the
community. He gives his earnest attention to
diversified agriculture and to the raising of high-
grade live stock. In politics his support is given
to the Re]niblican party, and he has taken an
active part in public affairs of a local nature,
while he has been called upon to serve in various
positions of trust and responsibility, including
the office of township clerk and that of member
of the board of supervisors, while for the past
eighteen years he has been postmaster of Esterly.
He is affiliated with the Modem Woodmen of
America, and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He has improved his ranch with a
commodious and comfortable residence and other
excellent buildings, while the entire place gives
unmistakable evidence of thrift and prosperity.
On the i6th of February, 1885, Mr. O'Toole
was united in marriage to Miss Delia S. Gram-
niond, who was born and reared in Illinois, being
a daughter of Oliver and Sarah ( Barslo) Gram-
mond. both of whom were of French ancestry,
but born in Canada. ]\Ir. and Mrs. O'Toole
have eight children, namely : Marie Nellie, John
L., Edward J., Laurence H., Earl L., Clarence
C, Samuel C. and Delia M.
JOSEPH P. LEONARD, one of the hon-
ored residents of Lake township, Codington
county, is a native of Niagara county, New
York, where he was born on the loth of Janu-
ary, 1858, being a son of Joseph L. and Sophia
A. (Chidester) Leonard, the former of whom
was born in the state of New York and the
latter in Canada, she being of French descent.
The father of the subject was engaged in farm-
ing in New York until i860, when he came west
to Minnesota, where he passed the remainder of
his life, dying in St. Qiarles, that state, on the
31st of March, 1895, at the age of seventy- four
years, while his widow still maintains her home
in that place. Of their seven children five are
living, the other two having died in infancy.
The subject of this sketch passed his boyhood
days in Minnesota, having been a child of aboul
two years at the time of his parents' removal to
the west, and his educational advantages were
those afforded in the excellent public schools of
the town of St. Charles. In the meanwhile he
assisted in the work of the home farm, leaving
school at the age of twenty years, and he con-
tinued to be thus identified with agricultural pur-
suits in Minnesota until 1878, when, as a
young man of twenty years, he came to the ter-
ritory of Dakota, taking up government land in
Codington county, where he now lives, and thus
becoming one of the pioneers of this section of
South Dakota. He entered claim to a home-
stead of one hundred and sixty acres and also
took up a tree claim of equal area, adjoining,
while he is today the owner of a finely improved
and well-cultivated ranch of four hundred acres.
He raises the various cereals best adapted to the
soil and climate, his entire tract of land being
available for cultivation, and also gives no little
attcntinn to the raising of cattle and swine of
excellent grade. In politics he accords support
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
to the Democratic party, taking a public-spirited
interest in local affairs, but never seeking official
preferment. Fraternally he is identified with
the lodges of the Modern Woodmen of America
and the Ancient Order of Pyramids in Water-
town.
On the 4th of December, 1881, Mr. Leonard
was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Wil-
liams, who was bom and reared in Wisconsin,
being a daughter of John and Lavina (Sheldon)
Williams, who were born in New York, whence
they removed to Wisconsin in an early day. Mr.
and Mrs. Leonard became the parents of five
children, four of whom are living, while they
still remain at the parental home, namely : Lil-
lian B., Herbert E., Gladys P. and Aubrey C.
Charles P., the third in order of birth, died on
the 25th of February, 1895, at the age of seven
years.
JOHN H. KING, one of the honored
pioneers of Codington county, being now one
of the prominent citizens of Watertown, was
born in Troy, New York, on the 19th of Janu-
ary, 1850, and is a son of Michael and Catherine
(Holland) King, both of whom were born in
Ireland. The father of the subject was a wheel-
wright by trade, but was for many years en-
gaged in mercantile pursuits in the city of Troy,
being one of the prominent and public-spirited
citizens of the place and one who commanded
unqualified esteem in the community. There
both he and his wife continued to reside until
their death. They became the parents of two
sons and three daughters, and of the number
one of the sons and one of the daughters arc
now deceased.
The subject was reared to maturity in his
native place, and there received the advantages
of the public schools and also of a preparatory
collegiate institution, in which he continued his
studies until he had attained the age of twenty
years. As a young man he there engaged in the
buying and shipping of country produce, in
which line of enterprise he met with excellent
success. In 1882 he came to South Dakota and
took up government land in what is now Eden
township, in the western part of Codington
county, and there developed a valuable farm,
continuing to devote his attention to agriculture
and stock raising until 1893, having in the mean-
while become the owner of a fine landed estate
of nine hundred acres. In the year mentioned
he sold four hundred acres and removed to
Watertown, where he has since been prominently
engaged in the real-estate busihess, owning a
considerable amount of residence property, as
well as farming lands in various parts of the
county, while he also controls many properties
which he handles for others. In September,
1904, in company with B. H. Cartford, he pur-
chased a general store at South Shore and to this
has since devoted his attention, enjoying a lucra-
tive and satisfactory trade. In politics he is a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Demo-
cratic party, and has long taken an active part
in forwarding its cause in his county. He was
justice of the peace in Eden township from its
organization until he removed from it. In 1890
he was elected to represent his county in the
state legislature, in which he served one term,
during the third session, while he has also held
various school offices, doing all in his power to
advance the interests of popular education. At
the time of his locating in Eden township there
were but four other families settled within its
borders. He was among the number who as-
sisted in adopting the name of the township, and
had the privilege of bearing the result of the
selection to the county seat. He assisted in the
erection of the first schoolhouse in the township,
and in all other matters proved himself progress-
ive and public-spirited, while he has at all times
commanded the unqualified esteem of the people
of the county in which he has so long maintained
his home. He and his wife are members of the
Catholic church, and fraternally he is identified
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
On the 17th of March, 1877, Mr. King was
married to Miss Anna Nisbet, of Lee, New
York, where she was reared and educated, being
a daughter of William and Catherine (Cox)
Nisbet, both of whom were born in the state of
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. King have six
children, concerning whom we offer the follow-
ing brief data in conclusion of this sketch : Lil-
lian M. is the wife of Frederick H. Elfring,
of Watertown, and the other children still re-
main l)eneath the home roof, their names, in
order of birth, being as follows : Nora, Kather-
ine, C. Stanley, Frances C. and A. lona.
TETER PHILP.— Prominent among the
representative citizens and honored officials of
Codington county is the well-known and widely
respected gentleman whose name introduces this
review. Peter Philp, farmer and for four terms
county commissioner, is a native of Scotland
and inherits in a marked degree the sterling
qualities of head and heart for which his sturdy
nationality has for centuries been distinguished.
His father, James Philp, a teainster by occu-
pation, met with an accidental death when the
subject was but one and a half years old : his
mother, whose maiden name was Catherine Wil-
son, subsequently remarried and lived to a very
old age, bearing her second husband one daugh-
ter, Peter being the only issue of her first mar-
riage.
Peter Philp was born in Thronton, Fifeshire,
Scotland, on August 27, 1838. After securing
a good education in the schools of his native land
he learned the trade of iron moulding and fol-
lowed the same in various parts of Scotland until
about 1875 or 1876, from which time until his
removal to America, in 1880, he followed agri-
cultural pursuits. June 19, 1866, he contracted
a matrimonial alliance with Elizabeth Anderson,
of Fifeshire, daughter of Robert and Margaret
(Deas) Anderson, and in 1880, as stated above,
he brought his family to America, making his
way direct to Codington county, South Dakota,
and entering several hundred acres of land in
what is now the township of Waverly. Mr.
Philp reached his new home in August of the
above year and during the ensuing fall he put up
a house and as best he could prepared for the
winter that was soon to follow. The winter of
1880-81 is remembered as the most severe ever
known and the vicissitudes, hardships and suf-
ferings of the settlers during that season of
awful cold, piercing winds and frightful bliz-
zards, cannot be described by either tongue or
pen. Mr. Philp's stock of provisions was ex-
hausted long before the terrible winter ended,
and for weeks at a time the only food of the
family consisted of wheat ground to the con-
sistency of course flour in a coffee-mill. To
keep from freezing after their fuel was gone,
the}' had recourse to hay, and to make this last
as long as possible, only small quantities were
burned at a time, the members of the family
huddling closely around the fire so as to utilize
every particle of the precious heat.
.\fter this trying experience, a more favor-
able season dawned and from that time forward
matters progressed favorably with the pioneer
family. Mr. Philp improved his land, brought
it to a high state of cultivation and in addition
to agriculttire devoted considerable attention to
live stock until in due time he became one of the
leading stock raisers in the county, as well as
one of its most prosperous men in other lines
of activity. He has taken a lively interest in
public affairs ever since coming to the state, and
is now on his fourth term as county commis-
sioner, having been first elected a member of the
board in the year 1900. He has held the office
of school treasurer for over twenty-two years,
besides serving two terms as township clerk,
having pointedly refused to be a candidate a
third time for the latter position. Mr. Philp is
a zealous Republican and since arriving in Cod-
ington county, twenty-three years ago, his ability
as an organizer and his success as a campaigner
have made him one of the party leaders in this
section of the state. His services on the central
committee have been greatly appreciated and the
success of the Republican ticket in a number
of local elections has been largely due to his
effective and thorough work. P>y close atten-
tion to business and successful management, he
has succeeded in accumulating a handsome com-
petence and recently he disposed of the greater
part of bis landed property and retired from
active life.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Mr. Philp was made a Mason in Scotland in
1864 and ever since his initiation into the order
he has been one of its most earnest and zealous
members. Tn his native land he subscribed to
the Presbyterian creed and for a number of
years was active in the church, having risen to
the position of elder and superintendent of the
Sunday school. Since coming to this country,
however, he attended the Methodist church and
is . now, with his wife, identified with the Con-
gregational church.
Mr. and Mrs. Philp are the parents of seven
children, namely: Alison J., wife of Plenry
Esington, of Summit, South Dakota: Margaret,
now Mrs. Charles N. Slauson, Graceville, Min-
nesota: Catherine, who married G. L. Hender-
son, of Kansas City, Missouri; James and Rob-
ert A., both married and living in Watertown :
Agnes P.. wife of George Burt, editor of the
South Shore Republican, and Peter, who is also
the head of a family with his home in Water-
town.
WILLIAM H. JOHNSTON was born in
Blue Earth county, Minnesota, November 7,
i860, and is one of a family of six children, four
sons and two daughters, whose parents were
John and Elizabeth (Sharp) Johnston, both na-
tives of Scotland. John Johnston, a blacksmith
by trade, came to the LInited States in 1855 and
the following year settled in Blue Earth county,
Minnesota, where he worked at his chosen
calling for a number of years, a part of
the time being in the employ of the gov-
ernment. Of his children all are living
but the youngest. George, who was killed in a
railroad wreck on the Northern Pacific Railroad
while making his last run as express messenger,
prior to entering upon his duties as auditor, to
which position he had been promoted a short
time before.
William H. Johnston was reared in his native
county and state, and after receiving a public
school education prepared hiniself for active life
by taking a commercial course in the Curtis
Business College at Alinneapolis, from which in-
stitution he was graduated with the class of
1888. Shortly after receiving his diploma he
came to South Dakota and located at the newly
settled town of South Shore, Codington county,
where he engaged in the hardware business,
opening the first store in the place with that
line of goods as a specialty. After building up
a successful trade and continuing the same for
a few months, he disposed of his stock and be-
gan the manufacture of flour, the mill which he
ran during the ensuing three years being also
the first enterprise of the kind in the village of
South Shore. Selling his mill at the expiration
of the above time. Mr. Johnston turned his at-
tention to real estate and he has since been deal-
ing in the same, doing a large and lucrative
business in Codington and adjacent counties,
and he has also extended his operations in many
other parts of the state, meeting with the most
encouraging success in all of his transactions.
In addition to his private concerns, Mr. Johnston
has been an active participant in the public
afifairs of his town and county, having served
as school trustee of the former ever since its
incorporation, and for the last fifteen years he
has acted as justice of the peace. He is also
chairman of the local school board and his ac-
tivity in behalf of the cause of education has
resulted in great and permanent benefit to the
school system of South Shore.
On .\pril 25, 1899, ^^^- Johnston was ap-
pointed by President McKinley postmaster of
South Shore, and since that time he has filled the
office with credit to himself and to the satis-
faction of the people, proving a most courteous
and efficient public servant. In addition to his
business afifairs and official duties he is now
largely interested in live stock, owning a fine
tract of land near South Shore, which is well
stocked with a fine herd of graded shorthorn
cattle.
In politics Mr. Johnston is one of the leading
Republicans of his part of the county, and it was
in recognition of his valuable services to the
party as well as on account of his peculiar
fitness that he was honored with the various
official positions referred to in preceding para-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
graphs. Fraternally he is identified with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and Modern
Woodmen of America, being foreman of the
former society at the present time. He was
married December 12, 1888, to Miss Mary
Benedict, of Wisconsin, daughter of Thomas and
Harriet Benedict, and has a family of four chil-
dren. Dean, Lyle, Rex and Elsie. Mr. John-
ston is prominent in the religious aflfairs of
South Shore and, with his wife, belongs to the
Congregational church.
MARWOOD R. BASKERYILLE, who has
been engaged in the agricultural implement busi-
ness in Watertown for the past fifteen years, is
known as one of the able and progressive busi-
ness men of the state, having built up one of
the most extensive retail enterprises in the line
that is to be found in the commonwealth, while
his intrinsic public spirit has been manifested at
all seasons. He is at the present time incumbent
of the ofSce of mayor of Watertown, and is one
of its most influential and honored citizens. Mr.
Baskerville is a native of the state of Iowa, hav-
ing been born on a farm in Delaware county, on
the i6th of July, 1859, an dbeing a son of Rev.
Job and Grace (Caldwell) Baskerville, both of
whom were born in England. The father of the
subject was a clergyman of the United Brethren
church, while after taking up his residence in
Iowa, as a pioneer, he became there identified
with agricultural pursuits in connection with his
ministerial work. He died in Iowa in October.
1892, aged eighty-four years.
The present mayor of Watertown passed his
boyhood days on the parental farmstead in Iowa,
and after duly availing himself of the advantages
of the common schools he continued his studies
in Western College, an institution of the United
Brethren church, then located at Western,, Iowa,
but now in Toledo, that state. He later attended
Epworth College, at Epworth, Iowa, for one year,
after which he completed a course in the Baylies
Business College, in Dubuque. Iowa. After leav-
ing that institution he secured a position as book-
keeper in the office of a manufacturing concern in
Dubuque, retaining this incumbency three years
and then becoming business manager for the Wi-
nona Plow Company, at Winona, Minnesota. He
resigned this position three years later, in 1888.
and came to Watertown, South Dakota, where he
established himself in the agricultural implement
business, beginning operations upon a somewhat
modest scale, while his business has kept pace
with the growth and development of the state and
is one of the most extensive of the sort in this
section, an annual business of two hundred thou-
sand dollars being done, of which about seventy-
five thousand dollars is sold at a branch estab-
lishment at Elkton, South Dakota. Mr. Basker-
ville has been signally prospered in his efforts
since coming to South Dakota and is known as a
straightforward, sincere and upright business
man, thus commanding the unequivocal confi-
dence and esteem of those with whom he comes
in contact in the various relations of life. He is
now the owner of four entire sections of valuable
farming land, in Codington county, and the
major portion of the same is given over to the
raising of the cereals best adapted to the soil and
climate of this prolific agricultural section. He is
president of the Watertown & Lake Kampeska
Transportation Company, which is preparing to
construct an electric railway between the city and
the attractive lake mentioned, and is a promoter
of a line to connect Watertown and Webster. In
politics the subject is found stanchly arrayed
in support of the Republican party, and in 1903
he was elected to the office of mayor of Water-
town, of which he is now incumbent, while his
administration is admirably justifying the confi-
dence and trust reposed in him by the municipal
electors. That this confidence is of no uncertain
order is manifest when we revert to the fact that
he was elected by the largest majority of all can-
didates for the office ever chosen in the city, re-
ceiving a plurality of two hundred and ninety-six
votes above his two opponents. Mr. Baskerville
is identified with the Masonic fraternity, the
Knights of P>'thias. the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, and the Benevolent and Protective Or-
I der of Elks, having been the first exalted ruler
MARWOOD R. BASKERVILLE.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of Watertown Lodge, No. 838, of the last men-
tioned organization.
On the 28th of November, 1894, Mr. Basker-
ville was united in marriage to Miss Harriet L.
Fahnestock, a daughter of Henry J. Fahnestock,
one of the representative citizens of Watertown,
and of this union have been born two children,
Henry M. and Walter G.
Mr. and Mrs. Baskerville are members of the
Episcopalian church, and in all social matters
Mrs. Baskerville is active and popular, her home
entertainments being leading functions.
GEORGE K. BURT, editor and proprietor
of the South Shore Republican, was born Janu-
ary 3, 1875, in Bradford county, Pennsylvania,
being the son of John and Ellen (Kirk) Burt,
both natives of Scotland. They were reared and
married in their native land and resided there
until 1873, when they emigrated to Bradford
county, Pennsylvania, where for a number of
years he followed his trade of shoemaker. In
1876 they returned to Scotland, but in 1881 de-
cided again to trj' the new world, and came
direct to Codington county. Settling on a tract
of government land near South Shore, he im-
proved a farm and cultivated the same with en-
couraging results until a few years ago, when
he ceased active life, and removed to the town
where he now is living in easy retirement.
George K. Burt was so young when his par-
ents returned to Scotland that he has no recol-
lection of the place of his birth. His few years
spent in the land of his forefathers served to fix
permanently in his memorj- the romantic scenes
of that country, but the greater part of his youth
was spent on the homestead in Codington
county, where he became accustomed to the
varied duties of farm life. He attended the pub-
lic .school of winter seasons and the training thus
received was supplemented by attendance for a
short time at the agricultural college at Brook-
ings.
He spent one year on the farm, and in 1898
accepted a position in the office of the South Shore
Republican, from which time until the present
he has been actively engaged in journalism. Two
weeks after entering the office he took charge of
the paper and after becoming sole proprietor he
introduced a number of improvements, gave
new life and impetus to the enterprise, and its
present high standing is due entirely to his
energetic and successful management. The Re-
j publican is a creditable paper, its columns con-
taining all interesting and important local and
general news and its editorials are able and fear-
less in discussion of the leading questions of the
day. Mr. Burt is an easy and graceful writer,
a courteous but able antagonist and is incisive
as well as fearless with his pen. He is an in-
fluential factor in the public affairs of his town
and county, manifests a lively interest in what-
ever tends to the advancement of the com-
munity, and his paper has become a powerful
educational force in moulding sentiment and
directing opinion.
Mr. Burt was a leading spirit in the incor-
poration of South Shore and has served two
temis as town clerk. He is also interested in
various local enterprises, one being the Creamery
Association, of which he is vice-president. His
fraternal relations are represented by the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, in which he is an
active worker and in which he has been officially
honored.
Mr. Burt, on Thanksgiving day, 1901, was
united in marriage -with Miss Agnes Philp,
the youngest daughter of Peter Philp, the
union being blessed with one child. Muriel.
GEORGE T. MITCHELL, one of the suc-
cessful and highly esteemed farmers of Grant
county, has the distinction of being a scion of
one of the representative pioneer families of
Ionia county, Michigan, where he was bom on
the 20th of May, 1855, being a son of Curtis B.
and Martha (Troop) Mitchell, both of whom
were born and reared in the state of New York.
The father early removed to Michigan and de-
veloped a good farm in Ionia county, and there
continued to reside until his death, in Novem-
ber, 1889, at which time he was sixty-eight years
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of age. His father, George Mitchell, a veteran
of the war of 1812, settled in Michigan in 1839.
The family was founded in New England in
the earlv colonial epoch, being of Scotch-Irish
extraction.
George T. Mitchell was reared on the home-
stead farm, while his educational advantages
were those afforded by the public schools and a
commercial college in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Thereafter he was for a number of years em-
ployed as a commercial traveling salesman, in
which connection he met with excellent success
and gained a reputation for ability and energy.
In 1882 he came to what is now South Dakota
and took up his permanent abode in Melrose
township, Grant county, having come here the
preceding fall and purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of land, upon which he located in
June of the year mentioned, while later he added
another tract of equal area, so that he now has
a farm of two hundred and forts' acres, im-
proved with good buildings, fences, etc., and
devoted to diversified agriculture and to the
raising of good live stock. He gives no little
attention to dairying, and furnishes a very con-
siderable supply of milk to the co-operative
creamery at Milbank, having been one of those
actively identified with the establishment of the
enterprise, which met with some opposition or
apathy on the start, much trouble having been
experienced for a time in securing the co-opera-
tion of manv of those who are now numbered
among its principal supporters, though it now
has about one hundred and twent\'-five patrons.
He was elected president of the operating com-
pany at the time of its organization, and has
ever since continued in tenure of this office,
while it is due in no small degree to his energy
and progressive ideas that the institution has
built up a fine business, having the best cream-
ery plant in the state. About three and a half
million pounds of milk are received each year
in the plant, and the annual product aggregates
about twenty-six thousand to twenty-eight thou-
sand pounds of butter. Mr. Mitchell is also treas-
urer of the farmers' grain elevator at Milbank
having l)een one of the organizers of the company
and having contributed materially to the success
of the enterprise, whose financial prosperity has
shown how great benefits may be gained by
farmers through such co-operation. About two
hundred thousand bushels of wheat and thirty
thousand bushels of flax are handled annually.
The company buys on a close margin and is thus
enabled to declare very gratifying dividends to
the stockholders. Mr. Alitchell was a member
of the board of county commissioners from 1891
for twelve years and was chairman of the same
for nine years. The significance of this long
tenure of the important office as a Democrat in
a strong Republican county is prima facia, as
it indicates in an unmistakable way the high
degree of confidence and esteem in which he is
held in the county and the objective appreciation
of his loyalty and business and executive ability.
At the time of this writing he is also supervisor
of his township. He manifests at all times a
lively interest in public affairs, particularly those
of a local nature, and in politics is a stalwart ad-
vocate of the principles of the Democratic party.
Fraternally he is identified with Milbank Lodge,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, which he
represented in the grand lodge of the state for
three years, and with Milbank Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons, in which he is serving his third
vear as high priest, while he also holds mem-
bership in the auxiliary chapter of the Order of
the Eastern Star, and is affiliated with the Alod-
em Woodmen of America and the .\ncient
Order of United Workmen.
At Ionia. Michigan, on the 17th of Novem-
ber, 1880, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Mitchell to Miss Man,' Allen, who was born in
Allegany county, New York, as were also her
parents, Roy and Melissa (Lewis) Allen, repre-
sentatives of old colonial stock and now residents
of Milbank. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have four
children, Maude E., Curtis P.., Clara M. and
Leroy.
Jl^NIUS W. SHANNON, born Will county,
Illinois. 1835. Editor; established Huronite
June 2, 1881, President board of regents. 1893.
Died, 1899.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
[123
COURTS AND BAR OF THE BLACK
HILLS.
FY GR.\NVILL,E G. BENNETT.
[Tlie following iutcrestiug sketch was .scliertuled to
appear amoug tlie iither contributed articles in Volume
I. but was not received until iifter the completion of
that volume.— Ed.]
The treaty with the Sioux Indians, ceding the
Black Hills, was made in the summer of 1876,
and ratified by the senate on the 27th day of Feb-
ruary, 1877. The territorial legislature which
convened in January, 1 877, anticipated the ratifi-
cation of that treaty, and, realizing the urgem
need of civil administration in that new, busy
and seething mining country, passed an act to take
efifect immediately upon the ratification of the
treaty, consolidating the first judicial district
with the second, of which Chief Justice Peter C.
Shannon was then the presiding judge, and con-
stituting the Black Hills the first district, and
transferring Judge Granville G. Bennett from
the old to the new first district. Judge Bennett
reached T)eadwood with his clerk. General A. R.
Z. Dawson, on the 28th day of April, 1877, and
immediately entered upon the task of organizing
the courts.
The Black Hills were then indeed "the forest
primeval." The cruel axe of the woodman had
just begun its work of slaughter and denuda-
tion, which in twenty-seven years has left bare
and forbidding large areas once beautiful with
their heavy growth of majestic and stately pines.
Game was abundant. Deer, antelope, bear, moun-
tain lion, wild cat and elk made the Hills the
hunter's paradise. There were no roads, except
of nature's own contraction ; no bridges ; means
of travel were primitive, either on foot, horse-
tack or in a dead ox wagon. The population was
at that time about twelve thousand. Of this num-
ber, ten thousand were in Deadwood, Lead City,
Central City and adjacent gtilches. In 1876 Cus-
ter was the populous camp, containing, as was
claimed, not less than six thousand people, but
the discovery of placer gold on Deadwood creek,
in the northern hills, had well-nigh depopulated
it, and at the time of which we are writing it had
very much the appearance of a "deserted village,"
but without a Goldsmith to link its name with the
immortality of song. Perhaps the white monu-
ments in the valley of the Little Big Horn will
be more enduring as they tell a story more tragic
and pathetic than any that might be woven in
a poet's brain. Most of the early settlers were
mere fortune hunters, with no thought of becom-
ing permanent dwellers or establishing homes,
so took but little interest in the organization of
society, of churches or schools. The mining
states and territories of the west had the much
larger representation, and cjuite a majority of
these belonged to the class of placer miners, who
as a general thing are improvident and nomadic.
The greater portion of the population had
entered the Hills in 1876 under the ban of the
United States government, against its protest,
and in the face of its active opposition. Bfeing
then Indian country, the territorial government
was powerless to give them aid or extend to them
the protection of the law and the courts. Feeling
the necessity for some sort of judicial adminis-
tration, to hold the unruly element in check, pun-
ish petty crimes, and settle chattel property
rights, these pioneers of 1876 organized in Cus-
ter and Deadwood provisional courts, with
judges and ministerial officers. Questions relat-
ing to mining and the right of possession of min-
ing ground were settled by miners' meetings, as
provided by the rules and regulations adopted by
the miners in the several mining districts. The
decisions of these courts and miners' meet-
ings were very generally respected as bind-
ing and final. Minor ofifenses were readily
disposed of, but when it came to capital
or other felonious crimes these hardy fron-
tiersmen preferred giving the culprit his
libertv on condition that he would leave the
camp, — as in the case of McCall, who murdered
Wild Bill, — rather than assume the responsibility
of inflicting the death penalty, and the execution
of a pententiary sentence being impossible. There
is no question but what these temporary govern-
mental expedients were productive of good.
They exercised a wholesome -restraint over the
lawless element, engendered and kept alive re-
spect for law and authority, prevented serious
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
personal encounters and bloodshed over property
rights, and a resort to the questionable methods
of vigilantes and the barbarities of lynch law.
Such were the existing conditions when the
jurisdiction of the territorial government was
extended over the Black Hills country. The
counties of Lawrence, Pennington and Custer
were organized and the machinery of the law
put into operation.
There was some funny work done and at-
tempted by the respective boards of county
commissioners of these counties, in the tempor-
ary location of the county seats. That of Custer
was fixed at a little placer mining camp, called
Hayward, which afterwards proved to be in Pen-
nington county, and its subsequent removal
to Custer City involved some citizens in rather
unpleasant experiences in the courts. The com-
luissioners of Pennington county laid out a town
awav up in the hills on Spring creek, where
there were a few miners' cabins, called it Sheri-
dan, and made it the county seat. An effort was
made to locate the county seat of Lawrence count}-
at Crook City, a small hamlet seven miles north-
east of Deadwood, but this failed and Deadwood
was selected.
Prior to statehood, the following judges oc-
cupied the bench of the Black Hills district:
Granville G. Bennett, GideonX. Moody, William
E. Church and Charles M. Thomas. Upon the
admission of the state, the seventh and eighth
circuits wee created. T^c seventh embraced
the counties of Pennington, Custer and Fall
River, and some adjacent unorganized counties,
Lawrence, Meade and Butte counties, with cer-
tain adjoining unorganized territory, constitut-
ed the eighth circuit. The seventh has had
three judges, viz : John W. Nowland, William
Gardner and Levi McGee. Judge Nowland died
during his term of office. The eighth has had
the following : Charles M. Thomas, Adoniram
J. Plowman, Joseph B. Moore, Frank J. Washa-
baugh and William G. Rice, the latter filling by
appointment the unexpired term of Judge Wash-
abaugh. Of the judges who have presided over
the courts of the Black Hills, three are dead.
Judges Thomas. Moody and Washabaugh.
The first term of United States court was
convened at Sheridan on the 4th Tuesday of
May, 1877. There were no civil cases for trial,
and no parties held to answer to the grand jury.
So no juries were empaneled, no attorneys were
present except Mr. Frank J. Washabaugh, who*
had been appointed and qualified as district at-
torney for Pennington county. There was no-
building in which to hold court, and a miner's
cabin, with dirt floor and a dirt roof, was used
as a hall of justice, and during a heavy rain-
storm the descending water and mud made things
very uncomfortable. The session was of short
duration and no business was transacted.
The next term of court at Sheridan was held
in September, same year. It was unique in many
respects. The little cluster of miners' cabins was
still all there was of the town, known as the
county seat. The county commissioners had
erected a one-story log house to serve as a court
house. It, too, had a dirt floor and roof. Places
were cut out for doorways and windows, but
that was all ; no doors were hung and no sash
or glass ; all was open. There was organized the
first United States grand jury in the Hills. Many
indictments were found and a number of con-
victions followed, most of them for violations of
the internal revenue laws. The United States
government was represented by the late John R.
Gamble. Quite a number of attorneys were pres-
ent, but few of whom are still in this jurisdic-
tion. The court, attorneys, jurors and witnesses
had to make the trip either from Deadwood or
Rapid City by private conveyances, taking with
them bedding, provisions and camp equipage,
and providing for themselves during the term.
A number encamped across the road opposite
the court house and fared sumptuously on bacon,
slap-jacks and canned goods, and when court was
not in session found amusement in shooting the
judge's "bench" full of holes, though the open
doorway. They were a jolly lot of fellows, and
enjoyed their outing. This was the last term of
court held at Sheridan, and the last of the town.
The county seat was removed lo Rapid City,
where it should have been located in the first
place, and the old site of the prospective city of
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Sheridan passed to the ownership of a prosper-
ous ranchman, and became one of the most pro-
ductive farms on upper Spring creek.
The first term of court held in Deadwood,.the
fore part of May. 1877, was in many respects
rather remarkable. There was no civil calendar,
and criminal business occupied the time of the
court. The grand jury returned fifteen indict-
ments, and but one out of that number was ac-
quitted, fourteen being sentenced to the peniten-
tiary. The crimes for which these persons were
indicted and punished ranged all the way frem
manslaughter to assaults with deadly weapons.
Shortly before the arrival of the judge in the
Hills, two homicides had been committed, in a
quarrel over the possession of certain town lots.
Certain citizens, regarding the conditions as
rather unbearable, organized a vigilance com-
mittee and proposed to inaugurate extreme meas-
ures. One of its members stated that the judge
was on his way in and would open court very
soon, and suggested that the committee wait and
see if he should be able to enforce the law and
punish crime. This was acceded to, and this
committee ceased to exist after this first term of
the court. It can be said to its credit, that during
all the period of its wild and reckless history
there never was a case of lynching in Deadwood.
And since that first term of court life and prop-
erty have been as safe in Lawrence county as in
any county in the west.
In this first effort to establish law and order
in this new mining camp, the iudge was most
efficiently assisted and supported by three excel-
lent officers, Sheriflf Seth Bullock, District At-
torney John H. Barnes, and Clerk A. R. Z. Daw-
son. They were among the first settlers, knew
the people well, were familiar with conditions and
■were able to give valuable information and ad-
vice.
At this first term seventy or more attorneys
were admitted to the practice of the law, repre-
senting almost every western state and territory.
Of all these, bu^ four remain in the Hills. Many
liave crossed the mystic river, while the remain-
ing survivors are scattered far and wide. The
following year some able men were added, and
the Lawrence county bar soon acquired the rep-
utation of being the strongest in the then terri-
tory, which it has in a measure maintained, al-
though having lost by death and removal a num-
ber of its recognized leaders and talented mem-
bers. Opportunity is a great factor in the lives
of most men, and this factor has been potent
with the lawyers of the Black Hills. For many
years the litigation, especially in Lawrence county,
was extensive and very important. Property
rights of great value being frequently involved,
and the cases closely and hard fought, could not,
than otherwise, develop a keen, logical and thor^
oughly equipped class of attorneys.
The early strenuous legal contests in the Black
Hills courts were cases involving rights to mining
ground. These were frequently complicated by
the carelessness with which mining claims had
been located and sometimes by the utter disre-
g-ard of the rights of others by subsequent loca-
tors. There were other elements entering into
these contests, which made the duties of the pre-
siding judge difficult and perplexing. The mem-
bers of the bar, as has been already stated, came
from almost every mining state and territory
of the west. Each brought with him his own
ideas and interpretation of the practice and pro-
cedure in the jurisdiction from which he had
come, and insisted upon their adoption and ob-
servance, regardless of the provisions of the code
of civil procedure of this territory. In fact there
was but one lawyer among the sixty or seventy
who had a copy of the code. There were then
(1877) no accessible text-books and scarcely no
adjudicated cases on mines and mining law. One
authority only could be produced attempting to
construe the mining acts of congress, and that
tvas the Golden Fleece case, decided by the su-
preme court of Nevada a short time previous.
Then there were a few attorneys, wholly devoid
of any sense of moral or legal responsibility, who
would resort to any methods, however question-
able, for the accomplishment of their purposes.
Under all these adverse conditions it is not at all
strange that the pathway of the presiding judge
was rather rough, at least not strewn with
flowers.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Some of the earlier cases, while protracted and
fought with stubborn ability, proved disastrous
to all litigant parties concerned. The first case
involving mining rights, being that of the Hidden
Treasure Mining Company vs. The Aurora
IMining Company, was instituted immediately
upon the organization of the courts in Lawrence
county. It was conducted on part of counsel for
defendant with unpardonable bitterness and mal-
ice, the effects of which were apparent for a long
time. When the case was concluded it was found
that the ground in dispute was worthless, and
neither company survived the disastrous legal
battle. Of the counsel engaged in this somewhat
celebrated case, but one survives, Judge Kings-
ley, who is now a resident of Denver, Colorado.
Of a similar nature was the Sitting Bull case,
but without any unpleasantness. It was long-
drawn-out and very expensive, at the end both
parties were bankrupt, and the ground in dispute
has never since been worked and is regarded as
of but little if any value. The attorneys for de-
fendant in this case, to-wit : Messrs. McLaughlin,
Steele, Moody and Skinner, are all dead, while
the attorneys for plaintiff still survive, Messrs.
Van Cise and Kingsley being in Denver and
Messrs. John R. Wilson and Bennett still prac-
ticing in Deadwood. The judge who presided at
that trial, Hon. W. E. Church, is now residing
in Chicago.
A very important case more recently tried in
the federal co^rt was that of the Buxston Mining
Company vs. the Golden Reward Mining Com-
pany, in which the plaintiff obtained a judgment
of over sixty thousand dollars. The pllaintiff in
this case was represented by Messrs. Martin &
Mason, with whom was associated Granville G.
Bennett, and the defendants by Messrs. W. R.
Steele, G. C. Moody and W. L. McLaughlin.
There never was a case more closely tried, every
inch being tenaciously contested, and although
the trial occupied about four weeks, it was con-
ducted in the most amicable spirit, and without
the least friction or unpleasantness, in this pre-
senting a marked contrast to the methods and
spirit employed and displayed by certain attor-
ne\'s in the conduct of the first civil action tried
and determined in the courts of the Black
Hills.
I have referred to these cases simply as sam-
ples of the heavy and important litigation in
which the Lawrence county bar has been engaged
during more than a quarter of a century.
It will be noticed how the Lawrence county
bar has suffered from deaths and removals dur-
ing its comparatively short existence. But no
man was ever yet so great or important that he
could not be spared from the world's activities,
and these places made vacant are being rapidly
filled by the oncoming aspirants for curialistic
honors, who give good promise of maintaining
the enviable reputation which this bar has en-
joyed in the past.
The Lawrence county bar has not been over-
looked in the distribution of political honors. It
has furnished a delegate in congress, Granville
G. Bennett, a United States senator, Gideon C.
Moody, a member of congress, Eben W. Martin,
a member of the state's supreme court. Dighton
Carson, besides many minor positions.
The bars of the other Black Hills counties
have many able lawyers, and have not been so-
changeable in their membership. They have not
had the important and extensive litigation that
Lawrence has had, hence have not had the same
opportunities and experiences as the attorneys
in the northern Hills.
The tempestuous days are past. Mining
ground is being rapidly patented, which settles
very generally mining titles, and does away with
what has been the most important branch of the
law in the Hills.
Things are fast assuming the steady charac-
ter of the older communities and litigation is be-
coming commonplace. But those stirring times
will long be remembered by those who were
actors in their exciting and busy scenes.
PIERCE CAHILL, representative of the
district in the state senate and one of the suc-
cessful farmers and stock growers of Grant
county, was born in Beetown, Grant county,.
Wisconsin, on the 9th of January, 1869, and is.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
a son of John and Margaret (Quirk) Cahill. the
formtT of whom was born in Ireland and the
latter in Wisconsin. The father was a child of
four years when his parents removed to the
United States, the family locating in the state of
Wisconsin, where he was reared. He became
identified with railroad contract work as a young-
man and was thus engaged at the time of the
outbreak of the war of the Rebelliorl, when he
enlisted as a private in Company C, Second Wis-
consin Volunteer Infantry, with which he was
under McClellan in the famous old "Iron
Brigade," participating in both battles of liull
Run and receiving four gun-shot wounds in the
second of those engagements, the injuries thus
received resulting in his death, in 1901. His
brother Pierce was likewise- a soldier and was
captured and held prisoner in Andersonville for
eighteen months. John and Margaret Cahill
became the parents of three sons and one daugh-
ter, and all arc now living in Grant county.
South Dakota.
Pierce Cahill secured his earlv educational
discipline in the public schools of Fox Lake,
Wisconsin, and assisted his father in his farm-
ing operations until he had attained the age of
twenty-six years. In 1889, at the age of twenty
years, he caine to South Dakota and, in com-
])any with his brother. Frank. ])urchased six
hundred and forty acres of land, in Grant county,
and here they now have one of the finely im-
proved and valuable farms of this section of
the state, while they have given particular atten-
tion to the raising of the best grade of live
stock. The subject has a fine residence in the
village of Albee and is now engaged in stock-
buying business here, still retaining his interest
in the ranch property and stock-growing enter-
prise, through the medium of which he has at-
tained a high degree of prosperity and a reputa-
tion as a progressive and sagacious man. He is
identified with the Modern Woodmen of
America, and his political faith is that of the
Republican party, of whose principles he has
been a stanch advocate, being a factor in public
affairs and having held various township offices.
In 1900 a just recognition of his eligibility and
party fealty was given in his being selected to
represent his district in the state senate. He
made an excellent record iluring the session of
the general assembly, being assigned to impor-
tant committees and taking an active part in the
work and councils of the senate, and the popu-
lar appreciation of his efforts was shown by his
re-election in November, 1902. He is held in
high esteem and is deserving of unequivocal
confidence.
THOMAS FITCH, one of the esteemed
citizens of Milbank, is a native of the old Buck-
e>-e state, having been born in Trumbull county,
Ohio, on the 7th of July, 1840, being a son of
Andrew and Elizabeth ( Blackburn) Fitch, the
former of whom was born in Connecticut and
the latter in Ohio, the father being a scion of old
colonial stock, while representatives of the name
were valiant soldiers in the Continental army
during the war of the Revolution. Andrew
Fitch was a man of sterling character and com-
manded unqualified confidence and esteem. He
served as auditor of Trumbull county, Ohio, and
about 1849 h^ removed with his family to Mc-
Henry county, Illinois, where he remained until
1856, when he took up his residence in Fillmore
county, Minnesota, becoming a pioneer settler
of that section, where he took up a homestead
and improved a good farm. He died at Mil-
bank at the age of seventy-four years, having
passed the closing years of his life in Milbank,
and his wife was summoned into eternal rest
three years later, at the age of seventy-four years.
They became the parents of ten children, of
whom only two are now living, Thomas and
Emmor A., who is a resident of Sioux Falls,
South Dakota.
Thomas Fitch was about sixteen years of age
at the time of the removal to Fillmore county,
Miniiesota, where he attended the common
schools and an excellent academy at Qiatfield.
He was for many years successfully engaged in
teaching, while he has ever continued a close
student and wide reader, being distinctively a
man of broad information and liberal ideas. He
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
was teaching when the thundering of rebel guns
against old Fort Sumter announced the initiation
of the greatest civil war known in the annals of
history. He responded to President Lincoln's
first call for volunteers, and on the 26th of June,
1861, was enlisted for three months as a member
of Comi^any A, Second Minnesota Volunteer
Infantry. His company was commanded by
Captain Judson W. Bishop, who eventually rose
to the rank of general and who is now a promi-
nent resident of St. Paul. He continued in ac-
tive service for three years and one month, being
mustered out as corporal on the 21st of July,
1864. He retired from service by reason of
severe injuries received in the battle of Chicka-
mauga, on the 20th of the preceding September.
He was wounded in the right arm and the face,
by the same ball, and in the ensuing surgical
operation fifteen pieces of shattered bone were
taken from his arm, in which the ball had re-
mained for eighty-one days. His brothers, Wil-
liam A. and James H., also served in the Union
arm\-, the former having been a member of the
Chicago Light Artillery and died in the service,
after having been a prisoner in Libby prison for
seven months. The latter was a member of
Company E, Seventh Minnesota Volunteer In-
fantry.
After the war Mr. Fitch resumed teaching
in the same school in which he had been retained
at the time of his enlistment, and thereafter de-
voted fourteen years to pedagogic work in Min-
nesota, though he was also identified with agri-
cultural pursuits and was incumbent of various
local offices. In 1880 he took up a soldier's
homestead in Kilborn township, Grant county,
becoming-thus one of the early settlers. He im-
proved his farm and placed it under cultivation,
and still owns the property, as well as forty acres
adjoining Milbank. In 1883 he took up his
residence in Milbank, where he is now success-
fully engaged in the wood and coal business,
while he commands the unequivocal esteem of
all who know him, being popular in business,
social and public life. He has been called upon
to serve in various offices of trust and responsi-
bility, including those of justice of the peace.
school trustee and member of the village coun-
cil. He has a nice residence and the pleasant
home is a center of gracious hospitality. Mr.
Fitch is a member of the company operating and
owning the co-operative creamery in Milbank,
which represents one of the important industrial
enterprises of the county. In politics he has ever
accorded a stanch allegiance to the Republican
party and has been an active worker in its cause,
while for the past two years he has served as
chairman of the Republican central committee of
Grant county. In January, 1902, he received
through the legislature the appointment as one
of the five members of the board of control of
the soldiers' home at Hot Springs. He has ever
retained a deep interest in his old comrades in
arms and is one of the valued members of Gen-
eral A. A. Humphrey Post, No. 42, Grand
Army of the Republic. In 1900 Mr. Fitch was
elected one of the presidential electors on the
Republican ticket, and had the distinction of re-
ceiving the largest number of votes ever cast for
a candidate in the state.
At Preston, Minnesota, on the 7th of Decem-
ber, 1865, ^Ir. Fitch was united in marriage to
Miss Sarah P. Shaw, who was born in New
York, being a daughter of Ebenezer and Lydia
P. Shaw, who were numbered among the early
settlers in Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Fitch have
one son, Frederick, who is now a resident of the
city of Spokane, Washington, where he is a
conductor on the Great Northern Railroad. He
married Miss Mary Hause, and they have one
child. Gene.
HON. A. H. INGERSOLL, county judge
of Roberts county, was born in Waupun. Wis-
consin, October 12, 1837, and is the son of
Artemedorous and Nancy (McNammard) In-
gersoll, both parents natives of Pennsylvania,
the father of English descent, the mother of
Scotch-Irish. Artemedorus Ingersoll came from
an old and respected New England family, was
a man of intelligence and much more than or-
dinary culture and for a number of years served
as official surveyor of Dodge county, Wisconsin,
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
[129
having been an educated and remarkably cap- j
able civil engineer. He reared a family of nine
children, six sons and three daughters, the old-
est son, a captain in the late Civil war, dying in 1
a rebel prison, and two otliers have died since
that time.
A. H. IngersoII was reared in his native state,
received a high-school education at Waupun,
Wisconsin, and studied law at Preston, Minne-
sota, under the direction of Henry R. Wells,
being admitted to the bar in 1878. In that year
he came to South Dakota and, settling on a tree
claim near Wilmot, began practicing in that town
and upon the organization of Roberts county, in
1882, he was chosen state's attorney, which posi-
tion he held for a term of two years, retiring
at the expiration of that time to his farm. But
a brief interval elapsed until he was again elected
to the office and after discharging the duties of
the same in an able and satisfactory manner for
a period of six years, he was elected to the county
judgeship, which with the exception of four
years spent in agricultural pursuits, he has since
held. Judge IngersoII is an able lawyer, a ju-
dicious and successful practitioner, and as a
judge his course has been creditable to himself
and an honor to the county, fully meeting the ex-
pectations of his friends and the public and
justifying the wisdom of his election. In the
discharge of his official functions he is eminently
fair and impartial, his rulings bear every evi-
dence of a profound knowledge of the law, his
decisions have been characterized by an intense
desire to render justice in all matters submitted
for his consideration, and thus far there has been
little in his career to criticise and much to com-
mend. He is not only one of the representative
Republicans of Roberts county, but enjoys much
more than local prestige as a judicious organizer
and successful leader.
Judge IngersoII is vice-president of the
Citizens' Bank at this place, and a stockholder in
the same, and is also identified with the Bank of
Wilmot, besides having various other interests
which tend to the development of the country and
the promotion of its prosperity. Fraternally he
belongs to the Ancient Order of United Work-
men and the Knights of Pythias, in both of which
brotherhoods he is an active worker, and at dif-
ferent times he has been honored with important
official positions in the same.
The Judge was married on April 15, 1881,
to Miss Ida F. Maydole, a native of Iowa and
the daughter of Henry M. and Eliza (Wilson)
Maydole, the father of German descent, the
mother's lineage being traceable to an old New
England family that figured in the early history
of Vermont.
ELIAS MONSON, ex-register of deeds
of Roberts count}- and now president of and ab-
stracter for the Roberts County Aljstract and
Title Company, is a native of Dodge county,
Minnesota, and the son of Ole and Bertha
(Kuntson) Monson, both parents born and
reared in Norway. Ole Monson and wife came
to the United States a number of years ago and
were among the earliest settlers of Dodge county,
Minnesota, locating there when the county was
on the very outskirts of civilization. After a
long residence in that state, they removed to
near Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the
father's death occurred in 1900, and the mother's
two years previously. Ole Monson, a farmer
by occupation, was a man of intelligence and
sound judgment and was a most excellent and
praiseworthy citizen. He was always deeply in-
terested in the public afifairs of the coinmunities in
which he lived, took an active part in politics
and for years was one of the Republican leaders
of Dodge county, Minnesota. Although of for-
eign birth and ever retaining a warm feeling
for his native country, he became devotedly at-
tached to the country of his adoption and was
an ardent admirer and loyal upholder of the free
institutions under which so many years of his
life were spent and so much of his success
achieved.
Elias Monson was born on July 4, 1864, spent
his childhood and youth in his native county and
state and after acquiring an elementary edu-
cation in the public schools completed an
academic and business course in an academy at
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Portland, North Dakota. On quitting the
academy he went to North Dakota in 1888 with
the family, and after farming two years in Grand
Forks county, changed his residence to the
county of Roberts, where, in 1892, he took up a
fine claim, which he at once proceeded to im-
prove. He continued to reside on his place and
promote its development until the fall of 1898,
when he was elected, on the Republican ticket,
register of deeds for Roberts county, the duties
of which office he discharged for two terms hav-
ing been chosen his own successor in the year
1900. As a public official Mr. Monson demon-
strated fine business capacity and became quite
popular with the people. At the expiration of
his second term he was prevailed upon by his
successor to continue in charge of the office as
deputy, being familiar with its varied duties and
far better qualified to discharge the same than
any other individual.
Mr. Monson is now identified with the Rob-
erts County Abstract & Title Company, of which
he is president, and also owns an interest in a
hotel at White Rock. He gives his influence and
encouragement to all enterprises having for
their object the material advancement of the
community, being alsa a friend of education, re-
ligion and other civilizing agencies without
which no commonwealth can truly prosper. He
belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men and
Court of Honor at Sisseton, is a zealous worker
in both organizations and at various times has
been honored with responsible official positions
by his fellow members.
Mr. Monson's domestic history dates from
1895, on December loth of which year was
solemnized his marriage with Miss Carrie Stad-
stad, of Douglas county, Minnesota, a most ex-
cellent and amiable lady who has presented him
with two children, Beatrice and Arthur A.
CHARLES L. FOLKSTAD, a prominent
merchant of Sisseton and proprietor of one of
the largest and finest general stores in the easteru
part of South Dakota, is a native of Minnesota
and the son of Levi Folkstad, who came to the
United States from Norway sometime in the
'forties. Charles L. Folkstad was born on June
I, 1863, spent his early life in Dodge county,
Minnesota, and enjoyed the advantages of a
common-school education. When a young man
he turned his attention to well digging, which
arduous business he followed for three years in
his native state and in 1891 came to South Da-
kota and, entering a tract of land in the southern
part of Roberts county, lived on the same until
receiving a patent from the government, when
he returned to Minnesota. During the ensuing
three years Mr. Folkstad clerked in a mercantile
house, but at the expiration of that time re-
signed his position and in 1895 again came to
Dakota and opened a gents' furnishing store in
Sisseton. His business career since the above
date presents a series of successes perhaps
without parallel in this state, as his progress
from a comparatively modest beginning to his
present commanding position among the lead-
ing merchants of Dakota has been little less than
phenomenal. Starting with a small stock of
goods, in an indifferent building, fourteen by
twenty feet in size, he soon secured a lucrative
patronage and as the business continued to grow
in magnitude more commodious quarters became
necessary. In 1897 he took in a partner, but in
January following purchased the latter's interest
and has since been sole proprietor, the business
meanwhile increasing to such an extent as to
make his store the leading establishment of the
kind in the city. Mr. Folkstad, in 1900, erected
the fine brick building which he now occupies,
the structure being twenty-four by one hundred
and twenty feet in size, handsomely finished with
pressed brick front and large plate glass win-
dows, the interior a model of beauty and con-
venience and perfectly adapted to the purposes
for which intended. This store is packed to re-
pletion with full lines of clothing, gents' fur-
nishings, and a first-class tailoring department.
Mr. Folkstad has a well-established reputation
for selling goods at low prices and for square
and honorable dealing with his patrons. Mr.
Folkstad has been remarkably fortunate in all
of his business affairs and now possesses a for-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1131
tune of considerable magnitude, owning in ad-
dition to his large mercantile house and other
city property, an extensive tract of fine farm
land, besides considerable stock in a number of
local enterprises. He is a man of sterling worth,
enjoys the confidence of the public and is held in
high esteem by his fellow men of Sisseton and
Roberts county. He holds membership with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the
Knights of Pythias, and in politics supports the
Republican party.
Mr. Folkstad's wife, formerly Miss Anna
Pederson, was born in Dodge county, Minnesota,
but since five years of age has lived in South
Dakota, where her marriage was solemnized on
September 26, 1893. The following are the
names of their children : Lloyd, Gordon, Alton,
Anna Bernice and Charles Walter, a twin of the
first born dying in infancy.
ANDREW MARVICK, treasurer and man-
ager of the Iowa and Dakota Land Company,
and stockholder in the Citizens' National Bank,
Sisseton, is a native of Grundy county, Illinois,
where his birth occurred on June 28, 1871. His
parents, Seivert and Laura (Naadland) Marvick,
were born in Norway and in 1854 came to the
United States, settling in Illinois, where the
father purchased land and became a successful
tiller of the soil. Andrew grew up in close
touch with the rugged duties of farm life, and
after receiving an elementary education in the
public schools of his native county entered the
normal school at Morris, Illinois, where he pur-
sued for some time the higher branches of
learning. His education finished, he engaged in
farming in Illinois and continued the same for
some years, later embarking in the real-estate
business in Minnesota and South Dakota. In
the spring of 1902 he opened a real-estate office
in Sisseton and after conducting the same with
marked success until the following fall, when
he helped to organize the Citizens' National
Bank, of which his brother, Joseph Marvick, is
president.
Mr. Marvick is an accomplished business
man and although but recently identified with
banking, he has demonstrated abilities and re-
sourcefulness as a financier such as few attain
after a much longer and more varied experience.
Under his able management the Citizens' Na-
tional Bank has become not only one of the lead-
ing institutions of the kind in Roberts county,
but in the northeastern part of the state, and,
being backed by safe and conservative men, it
bids fair to achieve ere long an honorable repu-
tation among the popular and successful banks
of the great northwest. In addition to his con-
nection with the banking interests of Sisseton,
Mr. Marvick is identified with various other
business enterprises that have had a decided in-
fluence upon development of the country, notably
among which being the Iowa and Dakota Land
Company, which he is now serving in the two-
fold capacity of manager and treasurer.
Mr. Marvick ranks with the intelligent and
level-headed men of the city of his residence and
in every relation of life has made a reputation
for probity and correct conduct that has become
proverbial. His impulses, always earnest and
generous, are invariably in the right direction,
and the encouraging success with which
his business career has been crowned is mainly
due to his industry, fidelity and the spirit of
courtesy characteristic of the well-bred, broad-
minded gentleman.
Mr. Marvick was married on February 20,
1895, to Miss Linnie Bjelland, a native of Illi-
nois, but of Norwegian parentage, the union re- •
suiting in the birth of three children, Lydia,
Raymond O. and Amos S. Mr. and Mrs. Mar-
vick have one of the most beautiful modem
residences in Sisseton, and their pleasant home
is noted for the hospitality and spirit of good
fellowship that welcome all who enter its pre-
cincts. In private life the subject is quiet and
unobtrusive, but warm-hearted and afifable in
his relations with his fellow men. He numbers
his friends by the score, stands high in public
esteem and the prominent position which he has
already reached in business and social circles is
indicative of the still greater and more influential
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
career that awaits him in tlie future. Relig-
iously Mr. Marvick and wife are Lutherans,
being among the leading members of the church
of that denomination in Sisseton.
FRITHIOP X. H. GYLLENHAMMAR,
M. D., of Gayville, Yankton county, was born in
Sweden, on the 8th of February, 1857, being a
son of Lars G. and Catherine M. (Samuelson)
Gyllenhammar. From 1632 to the present time
the subject's ancestors and himself have been
noblemen in their native land, the Doctor's name,
with the other members of the family, being
registered in the noblemen's calendar at Stock-
holm, Sweden. JMrs. Anna Carlson, the Doctor's
sister, who is his housekeeper, was widowed in
Sweden, her husband having been a civil en-
gineer. The Doctor was reared in his native
land and his more purely literarj' education was
secured in Linkoping College, where he con-
tinued his studies until he had completed the
prescribed course of the college. About the
year 1882 he took up the study of medicine and
surgery, under most effective preceptorship, and
in 1884 he emigrated from the far northland to
the United States, locating in the city of Duluth,
Minnesota, where he continued his technical
studies under the direction of Dr. W. H. Mc-
Gee, and while a resident of that city he also
familiarized himself with the English language,
so that he became well qualified for taking up his
active labors in the country of his adoption. Li
the autumn of 1887 the Doctor was matriculated
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in
the city of St. Louis, Missouri, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course, being graduated as
a member of the class of 1891, and receiving his
degree of Doctor of Medicine on the loth of
March of that year. He passed the ensuing
summer in that city and in the autumn removed
to Sioux City, Iowa, where he built up a suc-
cessful practice, continuing to there follow his
profession until the autumn of 1894, when he
came to South Dakota and located in the city of
Yankton, where he was engaged in practice for
the ensuing three years, at the expiration of
which he came to Gayville, which has ever since
been the field of his earnest and successful en-
deavors in the work of his noble profession, in
which he has gained marked prestige and the
concomitant confidence and esteem of the com-
munity.
Since coming to South Dakota Dr. Gyllen-
hammar has served about five years as a mem-
ber of the board of pension examiners for Yank-
ton county, and he is held in high regard by his
professional confreres in the state, while his
ability and pleasing personality have brought to
him a representative support in his chosen field
of labor. In politics he accords a stanch support
to the Republican party and his religious faith is
that of the Lutheran church. He is a member
of the South Dakota State Medical Society, the
Sioux Valley Medical Association and the
American Medical Association, while fraternally
he is identified with the Knights of tlie Mac-
cabees and the Mutual Benefit Association. He
is also president of the Yankton District Medical
Association. The Doctor is the owner of a
pleasant and well-appointed home in Gayville, in
which he has a large library of well-selected
books, both professional and scientific. The Doc-
tor is not married, and his sister presides over
the domestic affairs of his pleasant home, while
in the family circle are two adopted children.
George and Hilda Heloise.
J. A. RICKERT, a financier of more than
'local reputation, 'is a native of Trumbull county,
Ohio, and the oldest in a family of twelve chil-
dren, whose father and mother were of Gemian
and Irish descent respectively. Mr. Rickert was
born September 21, 1852, and four years later,
with his parents, emigrated to Olmsted county,
Minnesota, where he grew to manhood on a
farm, meanwhile receiving his preliminary edu-
cation in the district schools of that county. In
1871 he entered St. Vincent's College, WHieeling,
West Virginia, where he pursued his studies for
two years, meanwhile attending night school at
the Bryant & Stratton Business College, of that
city, completing the full commercial course at
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTx'\.
that institution. For the six years following
Mr. Rickert was engaged as clerk, timekeeper
and bookkeeper, in Wheeling, West Virginia,
and in towns in Minnesota. In 1879 he came to
South Dakota and took up a homestead in Grant
county, near Milbank. In 1881 he disposed of
his claim and with the proceeds engaged in the
general merchandise business two years later at
Corona, this state, where he carried on a ver\^
successful business during the ensuing sixteen
years, all of which time he served as postmaster
of the town, besides holding various township
and municipal offices.
In 1896 Ivlr. Rickert was elected treasurer
of Roberts county, and upon taking charge of
the office moved to Wilmot, where he resided
until the seat of justice was changed to Sisseton,
when he took up his abode at the latter place and
has since made it his home. He was re-elected
in 1S98 and served both terms in an able and
satisfactory manner, proving a painstaking,
obliging and popular public servant. During
his last term he built an elevator at Sisseton and
engaged in the grain business, and about the
same time associated himself with H. S. Morris
and Howard Babcock and organized the First
National Bank of Sisseton, becoming president
of the institution, which position he still holds.
Still later he became one of the organizers, stock-
holders and officers of three new banks, known
as the Citizens' State Bank of White Rock, the
First State Bank of Summit, and the Roberts
County State Bank, of Corona, and is a stock-
holder in the Sisseton Loan and Title Company
and the Roberts County Land and Loan Com-
]3any.
.Air. Rickert ovvus a fine business property at
Corona and a nice residence in Sisseton. He
has charge and the management of the extensive
farm properties of the Sisseton Loan and Title
Company, of which the}' own about thirty farms
in Roberts and neighboring counties.
Mr. Rickert was married in December, 1882,
the union being blessed with one child, a son,
Paul M., who is now pursuing his studies in
Pillsbury Academy at Owatonna, Minnesota.
Mr. Rickert is a Mason and a member of the
.\ncient Order of United Workmen. In politics
lie has always been an enthusiastic Republican.
The distinction which he has achieved in
financial and business circles has given him con-
siderable reputation, and as a public-spirited
citizen he is deeply interested in all that tends
to the material development and general pros-
perity of his city, county and state.
RT. RE\-. THOMAS O'GORMAN.— To
him whose name initiates this review has come
the attainment of a distinguished position in
connection with the work of the holy Catholic
church. A man of distinctive and forceful in-
dividuality and high attainments, he has con-
secrated his life to the service of the Divine
Master and is at the present time ministering
faithfully and zealously as bishop of the Catholic
church for the diocese of South Dakota, of
which Sioux Falls is the see city and conse-
quently his place of residence.
Bishop O'Gorman is a native of the city of
Boston, Massachusetts, where he was born on
the 1st of Jilay, 1843, being a son of John and
Margaret O'Gorman, who removed to the west
when he was a child, his boyhood days being
passed in Chicago and St. Paul, where he se-
cured his early educational training in public
and parochial schools. At the age of ten and
one-half years, in company with the dis-
tinguished Archbishop Ireland, who was then
sixteen years of age, he was sent to France,
where he continued his literary studies and was
also educated for the priesthood. Upon his re-
turn to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1865, he was or-
dained to the priesthood, receiving holy orders
on the 5th of November of that year. There-
after he had charge of a missionary district in
southern Minnesota until 1878, the center of said
di.strict being the town of Rochester. In the
year last mentioned he joined with the Paulist
fathers in their missionary work, and during a
portion of two years was an assistant in the church
of St. Paul in New York city. In 1885 Bishop
O'Gorman was made president of the seminary
of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota, in
II34
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
which institution he also occupied the chair of
philosophy and dogmatic theology. In 1890 he
was appointed professor of ecclesiastical history
in the Roman Catholic University at Washing-
ton, D. C, where he remained until 1896, in
which year he was consecrated a bishop and as-
signed to the diocese of South Dakota, being the
second incumbent of this distinguished and ex-
acting office.
At the time of his residence in the national
capital the Bishop was selected to write a his-
tory of the Roman Catholic church in the United
States, and this important work he successfully
accomplished, Volume IX of the series of de-
nominational church histories, published under
the auspices of the American Society of Church
History, having been written by him. Of his
work in this connection it has been pertinently
said : "This volume evidences the fact that no
mistake was made in his being selected for the
work. It covers a wider field than any other
volume of the series, commencing with the first
landing of Columbus on this continent and, ad-
vancing step by step, gives a complete account
of the development and growth of the church
to the present time. It is a great work, written
in a most attractive ■ and scholarly style, and
places the Bishop in the front rank of historical
writers."
Concerning the work of the Bishop in his
present wide field of endeavor we can not do
better than to quote at length from an appre-
ciative article previously publisheci : "On the
2(1 of May, 1896, Bishop O'Gorman arrived in
Sioux Falls, accompanied by Archbishop Ireland,
of St. Paul, and other high dignitaries of the
church, and the reception, the ceremonies of the
installation the day following, in St. Michael's
church, and the banquet tendered him, will al-
ways be remembered by participants as among
the grandest events in the history of the city. It
is not too much to say that a more cordial and
elaborate welcome was never given to anyone in
Sioux Falls; and one of the most pleasing fea-
tures attending the coming of this eminent prel-
ate to our midst was the hearty co-operation
of the clergy of other denominations in making
the event a notable one. Since coming to South
Dakota he has labored with great zeal and
ability in advancing the welfare of his church,
and under his administration some of the finest
and most costly church buildings in the state
have been erected. The Bishop is greatly be-
loved by his people, and throughout the state,
regardless of denominational preferences, he is
highly esteemed, while the city of Sioux Falls
is especially proud of her distinguished citizen."
Both by inherent qualities and training the
Bishop is eminently fitted for leadership in both
the spiritual and temporal affairs of his exalted
calling, and his labors are fruitful in a cumu-
lative way and will constitute for all time an
integral part of the history not of only the
church but also of the commonwealth in which
he is serving so faithfully and zealously. In
igo2 Bishop O'Gorman went to the city of
Rome as a member of the Taft commission, to
which was assigned the work of negotiating with
the church authorities upon the important busi-
ness and civic questions connected with the
church in the Philippine islands, and in connec-
tion with this work he was absent from his dio-
cese for four months.
CLEMEXT F. PORTER, president of the
Farmers' State Bank of Wilmot, is a native of
Addison county, Vermont, born in the city of
New Haven, on the 24th day of October, 1861.
His parents were Qement and Elizabeth
fComo) Porter, both natives of the province
of Quebec, Canada, and he is one of nine chil-
dren, seven sons and two daughters, being the
fifth of the family. His early life was beset with
many discouraging vicissitudes and not a few
hardships, and at the tender age of seven years
he was thrown upon his own resources, from
which time to^the present day he has been
obliged to make his own way in the world.
When about eleven years old he went to West
Boylston, Massachusetts, where he learned the
shoemaker's trade, and after working at the same
in that city until 1878 went to St. Paul, Min-
nesota, where during the ensuing four years he
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
"35
was employed in the shoe factory of Forepaugh
& Tarbox.
Severing his connection with that firm at
the expiration of that time noted, Mr. Porter
came to Roberts county, South Dakota, and in
1882 engaged in general merchandising at Wil-
mot, in company with Edmund Cook, where he
did a fairly successful business for a short time,
finally disposing of his establishment to take
a business course in a commercial college in St.
Paul, Minnesota. Finishing the course, he re-
turned to Wilmot and opened a hardware store,
which he conducted with profitable results until
1888, when he engaged in the liven,' business,
later turning his attention to real estate, bank-
ing and to dealing in agricultural implements.
Mr. Porter took a leading part in establishing
the Farmers' State Bank of Wilmot, and was
made president of the same immediately after its
organization, being also a director of the Citizens'
National Bank at Sisseton and of the Iowa
and Dakota Land and Loan Company, also of
Sisseton. A few years ago he sold his implement
business, and has since devoted his attention to
his financial interests and to agriculture, being
quite extensively engaged in the latter, owning
a finely improved and valuable farm in Roberts
county, which is cultivated under his personal
management.
Mr. Porter has been an active participant in
public affairs ever since coming to South Da-
kota, and in 1902 was elected to the upper house
of the general assembly as representative from
the thirty-fourth senatorial district. A Repub-
lican of the most orthodox style, he has been a
zealous worker in the party, a leader in its
councils in Roberts county, and it was in recog-
nition of his valuable services that the above
official honor was conferred upon , him. Mr.
Porter has served on the Republican central
committee of Roberts county, in which capacities
he was largely instrumental in formulating the
policy of the party and in leading it to victory in
local campaigns. Mr. Porter is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also
identified with the ^Modern Woodmen of
America and the Knights of Pythias fraternities.
having represented both the last named organi-
zations in the grand lodge.
Mr. Porter is a married man and owns one
of the beautiful and refined homes of Wilmot,
the presiding genius of which is a lady of in-
telligence and culture, who formerly bore the
name of Nathalie DeNomme, but who changed
it to the one she now so worthily bears on Feb-
ruary 14, 1886. Mrs. Porter is a native of
Massachusetts and of French descent, and has
borne her husband children as follows : Flora
M., George W., Clement F., Qiarles S., Thur-
man, Harry and Irene, all living but Harry, who
died January 12, igo2, aged two years and
eleven months.
RE\'. AVILLIAM F. OUILTY, who since
the year 1900 has been the efificient pastor of St.
Peter's Catholic church of Sisseton, was born
in Madison, Wisconsin, on the 12th of Novem-
ber. 1872. He received his preliminary edu-
cational training in Dubuque, Iowa, later be-
came a student of St. Joseph's College, and after
finishing the prescribed course of that institu-
tion was prepared for holy orders in St. Mary's
Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he completed
his theological studies in 1898. Father Quilty
entered upon the duties of his holy office in Wis-
consin, but after a short pastorate there was ap-
pointed, in 1900, to St. Peter's church of Sisse-
ton. where he has since reinained and which
under his able management and aggressive work
has grown into one of the strongest and most in-
fluential Catholic congregations in the north-
eastern part of the state. Since taking charge of
the work at tliis point the church has prospered
along all lines of activity and he has won golden
opinions and high respect from all classes of
society, irrespective of creed or nationality. His
labors for the good of his people have been
constant and unwearied, and his unswerving
fidelity to the interests of his parish has met with
an approbation of his superiors that will be
more n.ianifest as the years roll by.
In addition to the church at Sisseton, Father
Quilty has charge of the mission points at Wil-
1 136
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
mot and Effington, both of which have pro-
gressed greatly under his pastorate, and it is not
too much to predict that ere long these con-
gregations will be self-supporting. Father
Quilty is a gentleman of scholarly tastes and, as
already stated, his earnest and consecrated efforts
have endeared him not only to the people to
whom he ministers, but to the public at large.
His labors for the spiritual and temporal wel-
fare of his flock have been zealous and unceas-
ing and, being an orator by nature and thor-
oughly trained by education in pulpit eloquence,
his success in performing the duties of his pas-
torate and winning the love and admiration of
his parishioners has been little less than phenome-
nal. Conscious of the dignity of his mission and
losing sight of self in his efforts to extend the
Master's kingdom and win souls thereto, his life
thus far has been consecrated to duty and the
future awaits him with abundant rewards. His
scholarly accomplishments, as well as his un-
feigned piety and many personal virtues, have
made him popular with all classes and conditions
of his fellow men, and whatever the future may
have in store for him, his name will always be
cherished in the hearts of the people among
whom he is now laboring with such beneficial re-
sults.
CHARLES C. KING is one of the represent-
ative citizens and honored business men of Scot-
land. Bon Homme county, where he has main-
tained his home since 1890, being president of the
First National Bank of Scotland, succeeding the
Bank of Scotland in 1903, one of the solid and
popular monetary institutions of the state.
Charles Clark King is a native of the state
of Illinoi-s. having been born in the town of
La Harpe, Hancock county, on the 7th of July,
1863, and being a son of Luranus F. and Laura
("Andrews) King, both of whom were born and
reared in Ohio, whence they removed to Illinois
in an early day. In 1866 they removed to Polo,
Ogle county, Illinois, the father there turning
his attention to banking. The subject of this
sketch secured his educational discipline of a pre-
liminary sort in the public schools, being gradu-
ated in the high school at Polo, Illinois, as a mem-
ber of the class of 1883. He then devoted one
year to the reading of law, after which he was
employed as a stenographer until 1887, when he
removed to Duluth, Minnesota, and there en-
gaged in the real-estate and loan business. In
the following year he went to the city of Boston,
Massachusetts, where he remained for two years
as representative of the American Loan & Trust
Company, of Duluth, and at the expiration of this
period, in May, 1890, he came to South Dakota
and took up his residence in Scotland, where he
has ever since maintained his home. He here pur-
chased a controlling interest in the Bank of Scot-
land, of which institution he has ever since been
president. He is known as a careful and conserv-
ative executive and able financier and has the
confidence and esteem of those with whom he has
come in contact in either business or social rela-
tions. In politics Mr. King is a stalwart advo-
cate of the principles of the Republican party,
in whose cause he has ever shown a zealous in-
terest, though never a seeker of political prefer-
ment for himself. He served as a member of the
state executive committee of his party during the
campaign of 1900 and at the time of this writing
he is chairman of the Republican central commit-
tee of his county. He has held no elective oflfices
save that of treasurer of the school district, of
which he is now incumbent. He and his wife
are prominent and valued members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, and fraternally he is an ap-
preciative member of the INIasonic order, in which
he has attained to the thirty-second degree in the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, being affili-
ated with Oriental Consistory, No. i, at Yankton,
while he is also a member of the El Riad Temple
of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls.
On the 19th of February, 1896, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. King to Miss Delia
Robinson, daughter of A. F. Robinson, a re-
spected citizen of Dixon, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs.
King have one son, Robert R., who was born on
the 27th of October, 1900.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
"37
FRANK McNULTY. attorney and coun-
sellor at law, of Sisseton, is a native of Minne-
sota and one of a family of six children, whose
l)arents were born and reared in Ireland. His
father came to the United States in the early
'fifties and settHng in Illinois, followed stock
raisinsT until the breaking: out of the Great Re-
bellion, when he enlisted in the Thirty-third
Illinois Infantry, with which he served with an
honorable record until the close of the war.
Later he moved to Minnesota, where he spent
the remainder of his life, dying in the city of
St. Goud in 1896, at the age of fifty-six, his
widow being still a resident of that place.
Frank McNulty was bom December i, 1873,
in the city of St. Paul and after finishing the
public-school course pursued his studies for
some time in the University of Minnesota, sub-
sequently, 1900, being graduated from that
institution with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
INIeantime, 1895, ^^^ came to South Dakota as
principal of the schools of Wilmot and after
filling the position one year was elected super-
intendent of the Roberts county public schools,
the duties of which he discharged two terms,
baving been re-elected in i8g8. Retiring from
the superintendency, Mr. McNultA' resumed his
legal studies in the University of Minnesota,
and after finishing tlie same, as stated above,
opened an office in Sisseton, where his legal abili-
ties soon won public recognition, as is attested
by the hicrative practice which he has since
built up and now commands. Although a young
man with a comparatively brief experience at
the bar, he is recognized as a lawyer of high
rank and scholarly attainments, well equipped
in even' branch of the profession and since lo-
cating in his present field of labor he has ap-
peared either for the' prosecution or defense in
many of the most noted cases tried in the courts
of Roberts county.
Mr. McNulty is not only well versed in the
basic principles of jurisprudence, but is familiar
with the devious methods of practice and, being
apt and resourceful, is quick to detect weak
points or flaws on the part of opposing counsel
and turn them to his own advantage. A close
and critical student, he has earned the reputation
of an able and honorable adviser, as well as that
of a judicious practitioner, and the energy and
spirit manifested in cases intrusted to him de-
monstrate his ability to maintain the justness of
his causes. Mr. McNulty is pronounced in his
allegiance to the Republican party and has done
much to promote its success in Roberts county
and throughout South Dakota. He served one
year as secretar\r of the state central committee,
in which capacity his labors were duly recog-
nized and appreciated, and he has used his in-
fluence in many other ways to insure victory for
the cause which has always been very close to his
heart. Prominent in local afifairs and untiring in
his efforts to advance the interests of his city
and county, he encourages every legitimate en-
terprise to these ends, and ever since taking up
his residence in South Dakota his name has
been very closely identified with movements and
measures having for their object the advance-
ment of the state and the prosperity of its peo-
ple. Mr. McNulty is a director of the Citizens'
National Bank of Sisseton and a stockholder in
the same, also a director and vice-president of
the Iowa Land and Loan Company. In addi-
tion to his individual interests as represented by
his law practice, he owns considerable land and
devotes no little attention to agriculture and
stock raising, for both of which he has always
manifested a decided liking. Fraternally Mr.
McNulty is a member of the Knights of Pythias,
in which he now holds the title of past grand
chancellor, and he has at different times rep-
resented the local lodge in the grand lodge of
the state. While in college he was an active
worker in the Phi Delta Phi fratemit}' and still
manifests a lively interest in the same, retaining
his membership and keeping himself in close
touch with its deliberations.
L. WILLIAM FOSS, clerk of the Roberts
county courts, is a native of Dodge count}', Min-
nesota, where his birth occurred on July 12,
1878. His parents, Anton and Emma fFolk-
stadt) Foss, were born in Norwav and ^lin-
:i38
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
nesota, respectively, both being of Scandinavian
origin. Anton Foss lived in Minnesota for a
number of years and was a man of considerable
prominence in his community. He came to
South Dakota in 1880, took a leading part in
the public affairs of Roberts county and from
i8go to 1894, inclusive, held the office of register
of deeds. His home at the present time is on a
farm near Wilmot, but he is interested in the
abstract business at Milbank, in the Grant
County Abstract and Title Company.
L. William Foss was about two years old
when his parents moved to South Dakota, and
since that time the greater part of his life has
been spent in Roberts county. He has reared
on a farm near Wilmot. attended the public
schools of that town until finishing the prescribed
course of study and in 1896 was appointed
deputy register of deeds, which office he held
until engaging in the mercantile business at Sum-
mit . in September of the following year. Mr.
Foss sold goods until igoi, when he disposed of
his establishment and accepted the position of
committee clerk in the house of representatives
in the session of 190 1. He then came to Sisseton
and entered the employ of the Roberts County
Abstract and Title Company, with which he re-
mained about one and a half years, when he was
elected in 1902 clerk of the circuit and county
courts, which office he has since held. Mr.
Foss's previous training and experience fitted
him to discharge acceptably the duties of the
clerkship and his management of the office has
fully justified the people in the wisdom of his
election. He is an accomplished business man,
a ready accountant, and by his courteous treat-
ment of those having business to transact in
the office, he has won a warm and permanent
place in the hearts of his fellow citizens. A
Republican in politics and zealous in upholding
his principles, he is nevertheless popular with
the people of the county, regardless of party
ties and numbers among his warm friends many
who hold opinions directly the opposite of his
own.
Mr. Foss. on November 25, igoi, was united
in marriage with Miss Angle ^\. Tennev, of
Spring Valley, Minnesota, the accomplished
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Tenney, who
are among the well-known and highly respected
people of that town. Fraternally Mr. Foss is
identified with the Modem Woodmen of
America and the Improved Order of Red
Men, being at this time chief of records in the
local lodge of the latter organization in Sisseton.
Mr. Foss is one of the rising young men of
Roberts county, and his honorable career thus
far is prophetic of a much wider sphere of action
and greater achievements in vears to come.
B. F. CAMPBELL, born :Machias, Maine,
1838. Served in Civil war and earned rank of
colonel. Register LTnited States land office at
Vermillion, 1879. Postmaster Sioux Falls, 1889-
93. Died, 1897.
HOMER A. METCALF, for twenty-two
years a resident of South Dakota and since 1900
auditor of Roberts county, is a native of the
dominion of Canada, born near the city of Lon-
don, Ontario, on April 13, of the year 1865,
being one of eight children, three sons and five
daughters, that constituted the family of An-
thony and Catherine (Haley) Metcalf, the father
of English birth, the mother of German-English
deseent, but born and reared in Canada. An-
thony Metcalf, a carpenter by trade, and later a
large and successful contractor, immigrated to
South Dakota in 1881 and settled near Wilmot,
Roberts county, where he engaged in farming,
which vocation he followed until retiring from
active life a few years ago and. removing to the
town of Wilmot. While following building he
displayed great energ}^ and acquired an honor-
able reputation as mechanic and contractor. He
was also successful as an agriculturist, and is
now enjoying the fruits of his many years of
honest toil in the quiet, restful life, which onlv
such busy men as he know how to appreciate
fully. Mrs. Catherine ATetcalf died in Roberts
county in the month of March, 1887.
Homer A. Metcalf spent his childhood and
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
"39
}outh on the family homestead near London,
Canada, attended the public schools there until
about his sixteenth year and in 1881 accompanied
his parents to Roberts coutjty, South Dakota,
where he has since resided. He continued his
studies for some time after coming to this state
and when a young man engaged in teaching,
which profession he followed of winter seasons
for three years. He also pre-empted land, from
which in due time he developed a good farm,
and after retiring from educational work de-
voted his entire attention to agriculture until the
fall of 1900, when he was elected by the Re-
publican party to the office of county auditor.
The better to discharge the duties of his office
Mr. Metcalf turned his farm over to other hands
and removed to the county seat, where he has
since lived, having been chosen his own suc-
cessor in the year 1902.
Mr. Metcalf has administered his office in
an able and praiseworthy manner and his record
since taking possession of the same has been
eminently creditable to himself and an honor
to the county. He keeps in close touch with
public affairs, is active as a politician and has
contributed much to the success of the Re-
publican party in his section of the state. He
retained his landed interests until quite recently,
when he disposed of the same, and is now prom-
inently identified with the growth and develop-
ment of Sisseton, encouraging all efforts making
for the city's material prosperity and lending his
influence to all enterprises having for their ob-
ject the social, educational and moral advance-
ment of the community.
On November 20, 1890, Mr. Metcalf en-
tered the marriage relation with Miss Ella
Frymire, of Canada, daughter of Philip Fr\'-
mire, who moved some years ago to Roberts
county. South Dakota, where the father is still
living, her mother being deceased. Six children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf,
namely: Harold H., Donald C, Paul W., Ray
C, Edith May and Winfield, all living and, with
their parents, constituting a happy household.
The religious belief of Mr. Metcalf is repre-
sented by the Methodist church, of which he
has been a faithful and consistent member for
a number of years. Mrs. Metcalf is also a
Methodist, and with her husband belongs to the
congregation worshiping at Sisseton.
EDWARD C. GAMM, the leading lumber
dealer of Sisseton, was born in Schleswig-
Holstein, Germany, on August 24, 1844, being
one of the five children of Qiristopher Gamm,
a miller by trade, who came to America in
1865, and departed this life four years later in
the state of Connecticut. E. C. was reared
and educated in his native country and when a
youth learned cabinetmaking, which trade he
followed in Germany until 1865, when he came
to the United States and secured employment in
an organ and piano factory in the city of New
York. Subsequently he engaged in the manu-
facture of doors, sash and other building ma-
terial at that place, but later, in 1875, went to
Stillwater, Minnesota, where he carried on the
same line of business for some time in connec-
tion with the general lumber trade. In 1885
Mr. Gamm went to St. Paul as agent for the St.
Croix Lumber Company, and continued to man-
age the firm's large interests in that city during
the ensuing several years, resigning his posi-
tion as manager in 1896. In the latter year he
came to Sisseton, South Dakota, and started the
lumber yard of which he is now general man-
ager, the meanwhile building up an extensive
business in lumber and all kinds of building ma-
terial, such as doors, sash, lath, etc., his establish-
ment being one of the largest of the kind in this
part of the state. Since coming west Mr. Gamm
has manifested a decided interest in the affairs
of Sisseton and Roberts county, being public
spirited in all the term implies and ever ready
and willing to lend his influence and support to
enterprises and measures for the general welfare
of the conmiunity. He served six years as alder-
man and could have had almost any local office
within the gift of the people had he not positively
refused to accept such evidence of public con-
fidence.
]\Ir. Gamm holds membership with the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red
Men, Ancient Order of United Workmen and
the Sons of Hermann, and in politics votes the
Republican ticket. He has been twice married,
the first time, in May, 1869, to Miss Amelia
Huhnke, of Germany, who died in 1889 at the
age of forty-eight years, leaving three children :
Charles, Emma and Edward. Mr. Gamm, on
October 23. 1890, contracted a matrimonial al-
liance with Miss Louisa Hohlmann, a native of
St. Paul, but of German parentage, the union
being blessed with two children, a son, William
PL. and a daughter by the name of Irene. As
stated in a preceding paragraph, Mr. Gamm is
classed with the most energetic and progressive
citizens of Roberts county and in even- walk of
life he is respected as a courteous, kind-hearted
gentleman of sterling integrity and genuine
moral worth. He has been quite successful in
business, but has other than this to recommend
him to the favorable consideration of the com-
munity, being interested in everything pertain-
ing to the welfare of his fellow men, a liberal
donor to all public and private benevolences, and
a supporter of agencies that make for the ad-
vancement of his city, county and state. Few
stand as high in general esteem and no man in
Sisseton enjoys greater popularity or is more
worthy of the success he has achieved.
T. H. PEE\^ER is a native of Canada, and
the son of David and Eliza (Huffman) Peever,
who came from Ireland about i860 and settled
in Canada where the father purchased land and
engaged in agricultural pursuits. Of a family
of nine children, six sons and three daughters,
T. H. is the eldest in order of birth. He was
born August 4, 1862, receiving a good practical
education in the public schools of Canada, and
in 1881 came to the United States, locating for
one year in Michigan, where he engaged in the
lumber business. At the expiration of the time
noted he went to Wisconsin, where he dealt in
lumber during the ensuing nine years, and then
sold out and came to Roberts county. South Da-
kota, arriving at Wilmot on the 25th of March,
1892, before the opening of the reservation.
After running a locating office at the above place
for a short time. Air. Peever settled on the pres-
ent site of Sisseton. where he took up a home-
stead and later when the town was laid out he
assisted in the enterprise, took an active in-
terest in disposing of the lots and was largely
instrumental in attracting a thrifty class of peo-
ple to the place. Shortly after locating at Sis-
seton, he began dealing in farm machinery,
in connection with which he also opened a real
estate office, and in due time built up a large
and lucrative patronage in both lines of business,
continuing the same with encouraging success
for a period of six years.
Mr. Peever was the second postmaster of
Sisseton. having been appointed to the posi-
tion by President Cleveland, during whose ad-
ministration he managed the office in a manner
highly satisfactory to the public. He was the
first chairman of Sisseton and Sisseton township
before incorporation and did much to advance the
interests of the community and promote its ma-
terial growth and development. Mr. Peever has
always been an ardent Democrat and since old
enough to exercise the rights of citizenship has
taken active interest in part>' politics. In 1899
he was nominated for the senate, but by reason
of the county's being overwhelmingly Repub-
lican he failed of election, although he made a
gallant fight and greatly reduced the normal
majority of the opposition. In February, 1900,
Mr. Peever organized the Peever-Gorham
Mercantile Company of Sisseton, which was in-
corporated with a capital of fifty thousand dol-
lars for the purpose of establishing and carry-
ing on a general mercantile business, and of
which he has since been president and business
manager. The company carries full lines of
merchandise, demanded by the general trade,
owns large and commodious store rooms and
does a much more extensive business than any
establishment of the kind in the city or county.
In addition to this enterprise the subject is
president of the First State Bank of Peever, is
interested in the Peever Loan Company, and
owns a large and valuable fami adjoining Sisse-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ton, which is operated under his direction. Mr.
Peever is one of the wide-awake, energetic men
of Roberts county, and his abiHty to carry on
successfully large and important enterprises is
attested by the financial prosperity that has
crowned all of his undertakings. Mr. Peever is
a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. Ancient Order United Workmen and
Masonic fraternities, and in the last named or-
ganization he holds the office of treasurer at the
present time. His domestic life dates from
January 22, 1895, at which time he was united
in marriage with Miss Agnes P. Rice, who died
in 1897, leaving one child, a son by the name of
David B. Subsequently. May 18, 1901, Mr.
Peever was united in the bonds of wedlock with
. Miss Emma E. Schindler, a native of Minnesota,
and a sister of the Schindler brothers, of Sissc-
ton.
ANDREW D. DARLING, D. D. S.. one of
the representative dental practitioners of South
Dakota, maintaining his residence in the thriving
town of Tyndall, is a native of the state of
Illinois, having been born in Princeton, Beaver
county, on the 19th of September, 1862, a son
of William D. and Clara O. (Smith) Darling,
and the younger of their two children, his sister.
Alice C. being the wife of James ^McCartney,
of Wyncote, Wyoming. The father of the Doc-
tor was born in the state of New York, of stanch
Scotch extraction, and when he was a boy his
parents removed thence to Illinois, where he was
reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, re-
ceiving his education in the public schools.
At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion
he tendered his services in defense of the Union,
enlisting as a private in the Ninety-third Illi-
nois Volunteer Infantry. At the battle of Look-
out Mountain he was suffering an attack of
measles but insisted upon taking his place in the
ranks and participating in the engagement.
When the retreat was made he was too ill to
keep in line with his regiment and was captured
by the enemy and incarcerated in Andersonville
prison, where he died shortly afterward. His
widow subsequently became the wife of John
\'anderley. and they became the parents of one
daughter, Nellie, who is the wife of Edward W.
Carrell, residing near Piano, Illinois. The de-
voted mother entered into etemal rest in 1873.
Dr. Darling was reared in the home of his
maternal grandparents, in Marion county, lowa,-
and his early educational advantages were such
as were aflforded in the public schools of that lo-
cality, while he began to depend upon his own
resources prior to attaining his fifteenth year,
having thus been the architect of his own for-
tunes. For four years he worked as a clerk and
general utility boy in a grocery at Pella, Iowa,
and at the expiration of this period his employer
failed in business and a local buyer offered to
purchase the stock and place our subject in
charge of the enterprise, but he considered it
expedient to refuse the overtures thus made and
went to Des Moines, that state, where he secured
a clerical position in a leading dry-goods estab-
lishment. The sedentary occupation finally made
serious inroads on his health and he accordingly
determined to remove farther to the west. In
the spring of 1892, therefore, he resigned his
position and proceeded to western Nebraska,
where for the first few months he worked on a
ranch, receiving his board in compensation for
his services but having in view the recuperation
of his energies by the outdoor life. Later he
secured a position as bookkeeper for an irrigat-
ing company, receiving a nominal salary. In
July, 1893, he went to Denver, Colorado, arriv-
ing in that city in the midst of the severe finan-
cial panic of that year, and there he remained
for a period of six weeks, by which time his
available financial resources had reached a low
ebb, being represented in the sum of twelve
(Inllars. \\^ith this capital he purchased a ticket
for Omaha, Nebraska, and thence went to
Pacific Junction, Iowa, where his elder sister
was then living. Shortly afterward he secured
a position in an abstract ofifice in Plattsmouth,
Nebraska, where he remained until the ist of
March, 1894, when he came to Huron, South
Dakota, and entered the dental office of his uncle.
Dr. William H. Barker, under whose direction
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
he made a careful study of operative and labo-
ratory dentistry, continuing to be thus engaged
for one year, at the expiration of which he went
to Austin. Minnesota, in company with a Huron
merchant, whom he assisted in establishing his
business in the town mentioned. He remained
in Austin until October, 1895, when he was
matriculated in the American College of Dental
Surgery, in the city of Chicago, the institution
being now a department of the Northwestern
University, of Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Darling
continued his studies in this college for two years
and then opened an office in South Chicago, and
in 1899 he resumed his studies in the same col-
lege, where he was graduated in the spring of
1900. During the last year of his college course
he worked at night in his little office in South
Chicago, often remaining until the morning
hours, and while he was thus able to gain finan-
cial success in his chosen profession the dual
strain caused a distinct impairment of his health,
and he was compelled to remain for a short time
in a local hospital, after which he returned to
his home in South Chicago for a short rest. The
exigencies of his business, however, did not per-
mit him to secure the needed quiet and he ac-
cordingly removed to South Dakota, taking up
his residence in DeSmet, where he passed the
winter of igoi, and in the following spring he
came to Tyndall. where he has since been
actively engaged in the practice of his chosen
profession, having built up a large and repre-
sentative business and being known as one of
the able members of his profession in the state.
Dentistry implies both a science and a mechanic
art, and in all phases of the same Dr. Darling is
amply fortified for the highest order of work, so
that his success has come as a natural sequel,
while he has attained distinctive personal popu-
larity in his chosen field of endeavor. He gives
his allegiance to the Republican party and he
is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal
church. Fraternally the Doctor is identified with
Capital Lodge, No. no. Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, Des Moines,' Iowa, and Des Moines Lodge,
No. 68, Knights of Pythias.
On the nth of Julv, i8g8. Dr. Darling was
united in marriage to Miss Hattie Sturgeon, of
DeSmet, this state, and of their three children
two are living, namely : Stephen Foster and
Paul Eugene, both of whom remain at the
parental home. Mrs. Darling is a communicant
of the Catholic church.
CHARLES M. STILWILL, one of the able
and successful young members of the bar of the
.state, established in the practice of his profes-
sion at Tyndall, Bon Homme county, was born
in Hopkinton, Delaware county, Iowa, on the
8th of November, 1875, being a son of Charles
H. and Marion (Kirkwood) Stilwill. His
father is now postmaster of Tyndall and is in-
dividually mentioned on other pages of this
work, so that a recapitulation of the family his-
tory is not demanded at this juncture. The
subject has passed practically his entire life in
South Dakota, since he was a child of about five
vears at the time when his parents removed here
from Iowa, and here his early education was
received in the public schools, after which he
continued his studies in Yankton College. In
1892 he began reading law under the preceptor-
ship of James D. Elliott, of Tyndall, United
States district attorney at this time, and in 1894
he was matriculated in the law department of
the Iowa State LTniversity, at Iowa City, where
he was graduated in the spring of 1896. After
his graduation Mr. Stilwill associated himself
with the law firm of Shull & Farnsworth, of
Sioux City, Iowa, remaining with .this concern
until April i. 1897, when his former preceptor,
J. D. Elliott, was appointed LTnited States dis-
trict attorney and the subject accepted a part-
nership with him, and here he has since remained
as a partner to Mr. Elliott, while through his
ability and discrimination he has gained dis-
tinctive prestige in his chosen profession, to
which he gives his undivided attention. In
politics he gives an inflexible allegiance to the
Republican party and .has been an active worker
in its cause. For the past four years he has been
secretary of the Republican committee at Tyn-
dall. He is a member of the Congregational
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
church at Tyndall, and is treasurer of the church
at the time of this writing, taking a zealous in-
terest in all departments of its work. Fra-
ternally he is a member of Bon Homme Lodge,
No. lOT, Free and Accepted Masons, of which
he is secretary; and he is also identified with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the
Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 27th of December, 1899, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Stilwill to Miss Mary
A. McAuley, of Tyndall, and they are the par-
ents of three children, Helen C. Ruth M. and
Giarles Frederick.
JOSEPH ZITKA, cashier of the Security
Bank at Tyndall, is a native of Bohemia, where
he was born on the 21st of March, 1850, being
a son of Joseph and Anna (Riha") Zitka, of
whose three children he is the elder of the two
surviving, the other being Frances, who is the
wife of Charles Vaulk, of Bon Homme county,
this state. The father of the subject was a
fanner in his native land, where he continued
to reside until 1867, when he immigrated with
his family to the United States, locating in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, where he remained about tliree
years, after which he came as a pioneer to South
Dakota, which was then still a portion of the
great undivided territory- of Dakota. He lo-
cated in Bon Homme county, where he took up
a homestead claim and again turned his atten-
tion to agricultural pursuits. He was a man of
energy and excellent business judgment, and
through his well-directed efforts he attained a
definite success in connection with his industrial
enterprise as a pioneer of this state, while he
so lived as to command the respect of all who
knew him. At the time of his death, which oc-
curred in September, 1902, he was a resident
of Bon Homme county. South Dakota, and his
political faith was that of the Democratic party.
The subject of this sketch received his early
educational discipline in his native land, being
accorded the advantages of the excellent schools
in the vicinity of his home, and being about
seventeen years of age at the time of the family's
emigration to the United States. After locating
in South Dakota he continued to be associated
with his father in his farming enterprises until
1883, a partnership relation having been main-
tained. He early became interested in matters
of public concern and eventually became a
prominent factor in the local councils of the
Democratic party, of whose principles and poli-
cies he has ever been a stalwart advocate. In
1872 he was elected a member of the board of
county commissioners of Bon Homme county
and in the ensuing year he was still further
honored by being chosen to represent his district
in the legislature of the territory, while in 1876
he was again elected a member of the board of
county commissioners. In 1883 Mr. Zitka was
elected register of deeds of Bon Homme county,
having become a resident of this county in 1870,
and this office he held for three consecutive
terms of two years each. In 1889 he was a
member of the constitutional convention, at
Sioux Falls, which formulated the present ad-
mirable constitution of the state. In 1898 he
was elected treasurer of Bon Homme county,
and thereupon became a resident of Tyndall, the
county seat having been removed to this place
from Bon Homme in 1885.
In 1889 was effected the organization of the
Security Bank in Tyndall and Mr. Zitka was
chosen cashier of the new institution, a position
of which he has ever since remained incumbent,
while his discriminating management of its af-
fairs has shown him to be an able executive and
through his efforts the institittion has become
one of the popular and solid ones of the state.
He is the owner of about fifteen hundred acres
of valuable fanning land in Bon Homme county.
He and his wife are communicants of the
Catholic church and fraternally he is a member
of Bon Homme Lodge, No. loi. Free and Ac-
cepted Masons.
On the 8th of June, 1877, Mr. Zitka was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Bohac, of
Crete, Nebraska, and of this union have been
born eight children, concerning whom we enter
the following brief record : Hattie is the wife of
Frank Chladek, of Hawarden, Iowa; Rose is
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
the wife of John Herman, of Tabor, South Da-
kota; and ]\Iary, Charles, Anna, Agnes, Fran-
ces and George still remain at the parental home,
which is a center of refined hospitality.
CHARLES H. STILWILL, the able and
popular incumbent of the office of postmaster
at Tyndall, is a native of the old Empire state
of the Union, having been born in Genesee
county. New York, on tlie 7th of February,
1843, a son of Hiram R. and Melinda (Drake)
Stilwill, of whose four children three survive,
namely: Kesiah, who is the wife of John P.
Dickey, of Cherokee, Iowa; Charles H., subject
of this sketch ; and John G., who is superintend-
ent of the Emma mines, at Alta City, Utali.
Hiram R. Stilwill was likewise bom in Genesee
county, of stanch Holland ancestry, and in his
native county he received a good English edu-
cation, having been for a number of years a
successful teacher in the district schools, while
later he gave his attention to the nursery busi-
ness. He died of typhus fever, in 1853, at the
age of thirty-seven years, our subject having
been a lad of ten years at the time. His widow
subsequently contracted a second marriage, be-
coming the wife of Joseph B. Craft, and of this
union was born one child, George H., who is
now a resident of Oakfield, New York, The
mother was summoned into eternal rest in 1871.
Her father, John Drake, was an active partici-
pant in the war of 181 2. William Stilwill, the
paternal grandfather of bur subject, was born
in Cattaraugus county, New York, whither his
parents immigrated from Holland, and theie he
took up a tract of land in what was commonly
known as the Holland Purchase,
Charles H. Stillwill, whose name introduces
this sketch, was reared in his native county and
received his early educational training in the
common schools. In 1865 he severed the home
ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in the west.
He came to Iowa, arriving in Dubuque the day
following the assassination of President Lincoln,
and he thence carried the news of this lamentable
tragedy into Delaware county, that state, where
he devoted his attention to farm work for the
ensuing three years. He was married in 1868
and shortly afterward engaged in the manu-
facture of fanning mills, at Hopkinton, Iowa,
and one year later he removed to a farm which
he had previously purchased, in Delaware county,
and there he continued to be engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits until the spring of 1879, when
he disjrosed of his farm and came to the terri-
tory of Dakota, passing the first summer in
Yankton, and arriving in Bon Homme county,
on the 7th of September, 1879. For about six-
teen months thereafter he served as deputy regis-
ter of deeds of the county, and in 1881 he was
appointed clerk of the courts, which incum-
bency he retained for the long period of eleven
years, giving most capable and satisfactory
service. Within this time he also gave his at-
tention to the real-estate business, becoming one
of the leading representatives of this line of en-
terprise in this section. He associated himself
with G. W. Roberts, of Yankton, and Thomas
Thorson, of Canton, in the organization of the
Corn Belt Real Estate Association, which has
accomplished so great a work in furthering the
settlement of the state and the development of
its industrial resources, Mr. Stilwill has been
called to other offices of public trust, having
served as deputy sheriff and as deputy county
treasurer, and in all positions he has held the
implicit confidence of the people of the county.
In 1897 he was appointed postmaster at Tyndall,
and in 1902 he received a reappointment under
President Roosevelt. He is still largely inter-
ested in real estate, owning valuable property in
Tyndall and extensive tracts of farming land in
the count}', and he has done much to promote the
general welfare and material progress of this
favored section of our great commonwealth. In
politics Mr. Stilwill gives an unequivocal al-
legiance to the Republican party, and fraternally
he is affiliated with Bon Homme Lodge, No.
loi, Free and Accepted IMasons ; Scotland Chap-
ter, Royal Arch Masons ; Springfield Lodge,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Tyn-
dall Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is a mem-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
145
ber of the Congregational church, as was also
his devoted and cherished wife.
On the nth of February, i8fi8, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Stilwill to Miss
Marian Kirkwood, of Ho]ikinton. Iowa, who
proved to him a true helpmeet until her death,
which occurred on the 12th of March, 1903.
She was held in affectionate regard by all who
knew her, being a woman of gracious and
noble character, and she is .survived by her four
children, namely : Agnes, who is the wife of
James D. Elliott, United States district attorney,
residing in Tyndall ; Dr. Hiram R., who is a
practicing physician in Dfenver, Colorado:
Qiarles M., who is a well-known attorney of
I Tyndall, being individually mentioned on
I another page of this work, and Hayes K., who
is bookkeeper in the Security Bank, of Tyndall.
REV. EDWARD M. FIEREK, the able and
popular priest in charge of St. Leo's Catholic
church in Tyndall, Bon Homme county, is a
native of the state of Wisconsin, having been
born in Stevens Point, Portage county, on the
13th of October, 1874, a son of August and
Johanna (Kropidlowski) Fierek, both of whom
were born in Poland, where they were reared
and educated, having come thence to the United
States about 1873, locating in Wisconsin, where
their marriage was solemnized. August Fierek
rendered valiant service in the Franco-Prussian
war, and he came to America shortly after the
expiration of his term of service. After his
arrival in Wisconsin he was for a short time
engaged in farm work, after which he became
identified with railroad work, in which he con-
tinued, in various capacities, until about 1898,
when he met with an accident which necessitated
the amputation of his right leg, and since that
time he has lived retired, maintaining his home
in Ironwood, Michigan, and still having the
companionship of his devoted wife, both being
communicants and zealous workers in the
Catholic church.
Rev. Father Fierek passed his boyhood days
in his native state of Wisconsin, and his earlv
education was secured in the parochial schools of
Stevens Point, after which he took a classical
and philosophical course of study in St. Joseph's
College, at Dubuque, Iowa. Thereafter his
studies were interrupted for an interval of about
three years, at the expiration of which he was
enabled to carry forward his long cherished
plans of preparing himself for the priesthood,
entering St. Mary's Seminary, in Cincinnati,
r)hio, where he completed his theological course,
being graduated in June, 1901, and in Septem-
ber of the same year he was ordained to the
priesthood, at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, under
the episcopal offices of Bishop O'Gorman. Soon
after his ordination Father Fierek was assigned
to the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul church, in
Pierre, as assistant to Father John J. O'Neill,
and there he remained until June 15, 1902, when
he was sent to his -present charge, where he has
gained the aft'ectionate regard of his parishioners
and the high esteem of all who know him. Father
Fierek is a young man of genial and gracious
personality, earnest in the work to which he has
consecrated his life, kindly and tolerant in his
judgment, and one well adapted to the noble
calling to which he has given himself in the full-
ness of faith and self-abnegating humility.
PATRICK WILLIAM McKEEVER, chief
of the well-equipped fire department of the city
of Sioux Falls, is a native of the state of Illinois,
having been born in the city of Diixon, Lee
county, on the nth of January, 1868, and being
a son of Patrick and Alice McKeever, who re-
moved thence to St. Louis, Missouri, when he
was a mere child, his father being a tailor by vo-
cation. The parents are now living in St. Louis,
Missouri. The subject passed his early youth in
the metropolis of Missouri, and there received
the advantages of the parochial and public
schools. In 1884, at the age of sixteen years,
he left St. Louis, and went to Kentland, Indi-
ana, where he served an apprenticeship at the
tailor's trade, at which he was employed in
various parts of the Union until 1887, when he
came to Sioux Falls, where he followed his trade
146
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
until 1892, when he engaged in the hotel busi-
ness, to which he continued to give his attention,
as proprietor of the Winsor and Central hotels,
finally leading to his appointment to his present
office as chief of the local fire department. He
joined the volunteer fire department soon after
coming to Sioux Falls, and continued with the
same after the department was acquired by the
municipal government, his ability and fidelity
finally leading to his apopintment to his present
position. He is a man of genial nature and
enjoy.s the esteem and confidence of the people
of the city, who realize that he is ever watchful
of their interests and ever ready to respond to
the call of duty in offering protection to life and
property. In politics the chief was formerly af-
filiated with the Democracy, but at the time of
the first nomination of the late lamented Presi-
dent McKinley he transferred his allegiance to
the Republican party, of whose principles he
has since been a stanch advocate. In 1897-98 he
represented the first ward on the board of alder-
men of the city. Religiously he is a Catholic,
while his fraternal relations are with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen.
On the 2d of June, igoo, Mr. McKeever was
united in marriage to Miss Josephine Houser, a
daughter of Adam Houser, of Salem, this state,
and their pleasant home is one in which a gra-
cious hospitality is ever in evidence.
THOMAS J. BUSHELL, junior member of
the well-known firm of Roberts & Bushell, pro-
prietors of the White Seal cigar factory in the
city of Sioux Falls, the largest concern of the
sort in the state, is one of the popular and repre-
sentative business men of the state, and has been
a resident of Sioux Falls for more than a score
of years, while for seventeen years he held the
position of engineer at the state penitentiary
here.
Mr. Bushell is a native of Binningham,
England, where he was born on the 4th of July,
i860, being a son of J. G. and Sarah (Bell)
Bushell. who still remain in England, his father
being a saddler by vocation. The subject se-
cured his educational training in the excellent
schools of his native land, and in the city of
Birmingham learned the trade of steam-fitting,
having become a skilled artisan in the line prior
to his immigration to America. He came to
the United States in 1879, in April of which
year he located in the city of Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, where he was employed at his trade for
some time, and later was similarly engaged in
the city of Chicago. In 1882 he came to Sioux
Falls, under contract with a leading Qiicago
concern, to take charge of the steam-fitting in
the South Dakota penitentiary and the Cataract
hotel, and after the completion of the work he
was appointed engineer at the penitentiary-,
where he continued to give most effective service
for the long period of seventeen years, at the
expiration of which he resigned in order to en-
gage in his present line of business. In JXIay,
igo2, Mr. Bushell entered into partnership with
John H. Roberts, a practical cigarmaker, and
organized the firm of Roberts & Bushell, and in
the comparatively brief intervening period they
have built up a large and prosperous business,
their trade ramifying throughout the state, while
they manufacture cigars of the highest grade,
employing the most skilled workmen and utiliz-
ing select stock. Their large and well-equipped
factory is located at 328 South Phillips avenue,
and the concern figures as one of the important
commercial and industrial enterprises of the
city, while the members of the firm are known
as reliable, wide-awake and progressive business
men, commanding the confidence and esteem of
all with whom they have dealings.
In politics Mr. Bushell accords an uncom-
promising allegiance to the Republican party, in
whose ranks he has been for a number of years
a most active and effective worker, being promi-
nent in the party councils in the state, and being
at the present time a representative of Minne-
haha county on the state central committee, while
for the past several years he has been a delegate
to the successive state conventions of his parts',
as well as to minor conventions. In 1900 he
was elected a member of the city council, and
was chosen as his own successor in 7902, so that
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
at the time of this writing he is serving his sec-
ond term, doing all in his power to further the
interests of clean and conservative municipal
government and being animated by a distinctive
public spirit, so that he proves a valuable mem-
ber of the body. He is one of the leading mem-
bers of the Ancient Order of United Workmen
in the state, being affiliated with Jasper Lodge,
Xo. 21, and in 1900 and 1 901 he had the distinc-
tion of serving as department grand master of
the order in the state. He is also identified with
Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 9, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows; and with Sioux Falls x\erie, No.
318. Fraternal Order of Eagles, of which he is
president at the time of this writing.
On the 28th of May, 1884, Mr. Bushell was
united in marriage to Miss Lena Haugen, a
daughter of Otto and Anna Haugen, her father
being one of the prominent farmers of Turner
county, this state, while she was born in Nor-
way. Mr. and Mrs. Bushell have one child,
Florence Belle,' who was born on the 5th of
Atigust, 1889, and who is one of the popular
\onng women in her social circles.
JACOB SCHAETZEL, Jr., one of the best
known citizens of Sioux Falls, and who has the
distinction of having been the first mayor of the
city after its incorporation as such, is a native
of the state of Wisconsin, having been bom on
a farm in Washington county, on the i6th of
May, 1850, and being a son of Jacob and Kathar-
ine (Kissinger) Schaetzel, both of whom were
born in Darmstadt, Germany, the father having
been a farmer by vocation and having passed
the closing years of his life in Freeport, Illinois,
where he died in 1899, his devoted wife passing
away in 1885, while all of their eight children are
living at the present time. After completing the
curriculum of the district schools the subject
continued his studies in the Lawrence University,
at Appleton, Wisconsin. At the age of nineteen
years he secured employment as clerk in a store
at Freeport, Illinois, where he remained for a
period of six years, gaining practical knowledge,
which proved of great value to him in his later
and independent business operations. Mr.
Schaetzel became one of the pioneers of Min-
nehaha county, South Dakota, where he took up
his residence on the 22d of February, 1876, set-
tling in Sioux Falls, which was at the time a
straggling little village of about two hundred
and fifty population. In the intervening years
he has left an indelible impress upon the civic,
industrial and business affairs of the city, county
and state, while to him has come a due measure
of success as the result of his well-directed en-
deavors along legitimate lines of enterprise. For
the first few years after his arrival in the state
Mr. Schaetzel gave his attention principally to
the real-estate and insurance business and to the
shipping in of horses, for which he found a
ready demand as the tide of immigration set in.
For two years he conducted a livery and sales
stable in Sioux Falls, and since that time his
name has been associated with a large number
of important and varied business enterprises,
while he has accumulated a competence. He is
the owner of valuable property in the city and
county and is a stockholder in various industrial
and financial concerns, having been at one time
a stockholder in the German Bank, and a mem-
ber of its directorate. As has been well said of
him, "There are no negative elements in his
makeup ; he is energetic and enterprising, and is
a good citizen."
In politics Mr. Schaetzel accords an uncom-
promising allegiance to the Republican party, in
whose cause he has been an active worker, being
one of the wheelhorses of the party in Min-
nehaha county. In 188 1, upon the death of
Thomas T. Cochran, who has been incumbent
of the office, he was elected president of the vil-
lage council of Sioux Falls, and forthwith
showed his progressive ideas and strong power
of initiative by vigorously agitating the question
of securing to the place a charter as a city, its
population and commercial prestige at the time
entitling its incorporation as such. He called a
meeting of the citizens for the consideration of
the matter, and within the autumn of that year
definite steps were taken toward the accomplish-
ment of the desired end. a city charter being
148
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
drafted and other necessary preliminary work
accomplished. The president of the village then
went to the territorial capital and presented the
claims of Sioux Falls to the legislature, which
duly passed the bill authorizing the incorpor-
ation as a city. At the first general election un-
der the new charter, in 1882, Mr. Schaetzel was
further honored by his fellow citizens by being
elected the first mayor of the city, receiving a
most gratifying support and continuing in tenure
of the office for a term of two years, while he
gave a most able, careful and business-like ad-
ministration, the burdens imposed upon him in
the connection being heavy, as his term of office
was one marked by reorganization and readjust-
ment in municipal affairs, but his vigorous policy
was such that harmony and wise administra-
tion marked the course of his official career. He
was county commissioner for the fifth district
during the years 1893-4-5, and was a very active
and influential member of the board, while his
aid and influence have at all times been loyally
given in support of all measures and under-
takings for the advancement of the best interests
of the city and state.
On the 7th of September, 1871, Mr. Schaetzel
was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Bren-
ner, who was born and reared in Washington
county, Wisconsin, being a daughter of Peter
and Christina (Kissinger) Brenixer, both of
whom died in Polk, Washington county, Wis-
consin. Mr. and Mrs. Schaetzel have two chil-
dren, Marie, who is the wife of Ernest D. Skill-
man, of Irene, this state, and William A., who is
engaged in business at Elk Point. The subject
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which
he has passed the degrees of lodge and chapter.
BENJAMIN L. WALKER, fanner and
stock raiser and since 1893 treasurer and tax
collector of Lyman county. South Dakota, is a
native of Pennsylvania and the son of Abner and
Lucinda (Risling) Walker, now living in
Hutchinson county. South Dakota, the father
being a retired farmer and stock raiser. .A_bner
Walker moved his family to South Dakota in
1870 and located on a homestead near Yankton,
where he lived a few years, subsequently chang-
ing his abode to Bon Homme county. He be-
came a large land holder and well-to-do farmer
and stock raiser in Bon Homme and after ac-
quiring a competence moved to the town of
Olivet, where, as stated above, he is now passing
the evening of a well-spent life in honorable re-
tirement. Of his four children all are living.
Benjamin L. Walker was born March 26,
1866, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and at
the age of four years was brought by his parents
to South Dakota, where he grew to maturity
and has since lived and in the public school of
which he received a fair education. Reared,
amid the stirring scenes of farm life and early
taught the varied duties of agriculture, his train-
ing has been mostly of a practical character, ac-
quired in the stern school of experience, by com-
ing in contact with the world in different busi-
ness capacities. The family came to this state
when scattering settlements were few and far
between, and he experienced his full share of
the vicissitudes incident to life on the frontier.
He spent his youth on the homestead near Yank-
ton, later assisted his father develop and im-
prove the latter's land in the county of Bon
Homme, and on reaching the age when young
men are expected to leave home and form their
own plans for the future, he turned his atten-
tion to agriculture and stock raising, both of
which callings he followed with success and
financial profit until 1 900, when he was elected
treasurer and tax-collector of Lyman county,
since which time he has lived in the town of
Oacoma. the county seat.
Mr. Walker owns a fine ranch of two hun-
dred acres, a part of which is under cultivation,
the rest being devoted to live stock, in the prose-
cution of which business he has met with most
encouraging results, making a specialty of the
noted Hereford breed of cattle, for which there
is always a strong demand at liberal prices. He
has made a number of substantial improvements
on his place, having good buildings, including a
comfortable and attractive residence, which
while he occupied was furnished with all the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
149
comforts and conveniences calculated to make
rural life desirable. The better to attend to the
duties of his office, he changed his residence,
shortly after his election, to the seat of justice,
where he now has a commodious home and with
the material growth and prosperity of which
town he has been actively identified. Air.
Walker is one of the leading Republicans of
L\inan county, and as an energetic and able
counsellor he has contributed greatly to the suc-
cess of Republican principles in the county of
Lyman and elsewhere.
In the year 1894 Mr. Walker and Miss Leila
Brown, of Iowa, were united in marriage, Mrs.
Walker's parents at this time being residents of
Lyman county, South Dakota. Her father is
a farmer and stock raiser, owning a valuable
ranch and devoting especial attention, not only
to raising cattle and horses, but to the buying
and shipping the same, doing a large and thriv-
ing business and rapidly becoming one of the
wealthy men of the section of country in which
he lives. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have an in-
teresting family of six children whose names
are Loretta, Maude, Edyth, Viola, Ivan and
Florence, all living and those old enough at-
tending the public schools of Oacoma.
RICHARD L. SMITH is a native of Jen-
nings county, Indiana, where he was born on
the 26th of April, 1833, being one of the eleven
children born to James P. and Eliza A. (Beech-
am) Smith. His father was a farmer and each
of the eight sons assisted in the work of the
homestead place, while during the winter terms
they were able to attend the district schools.
At the age of eighteen Mr. Smith proved himself
eligible for pedagogic honors, securing a license
to teach school. He proved successful in his
work as a teacher and devoted his attention to
this profession for three successive years, while
during this time he relegated the work of the
fami to his younger brothers and worked at the
carpenter's trade during the summer vacation
periods. During this time he was giving as
much attention as possible to the study of
medicine, first carrying on his studies under the
direction of his older brother, a successful prac-
ticing physician, and then passing two years un-
der the effective preceptorship of Dr. William
F. Riley, of Omega, Indiana, who took a great
interest in the young man and aided him in
more ways than one. The subject, during this
time, made his home with his preceptor and in
the fall of 1835 he obtained from Dr. Riley a
certificate of qualification which enabled him to
practice medicine under the laws of Indiana.
After a short time he removed to Illinois, being
engaged in practice at Decatur for two years
and then taking up his residence in Salem, that
state, while in the following year he entered the
office of Dr. Stephen F. Mercer, of that place,
and devoted two years to a systematic review
of his professional studies.
At the outbreak of the Rebellion Dr. Smith
was among the first to tender his services in
defense of the Union. On May 9, 1861, he en-
listed as a private in Company G, Twenty-first
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and for the ensuing
four years and nine months the history of his
regiment is coincident with his personal career a"?
a valiant and loyal soldier. He participated in
many of the most important battles incident to
the progress of the great fratracidal conflict, his
regiment being for the greater portion of the
time a part of the Army of the Cumberland, and
it was his good fortune to escape wounds and
sickness, while he never asked for or received a
furlough or a leave of absence. He was always
present for active duty or for detached service
and his fidelity and zeal never wavered during
the long and arduous service which he rendered
in behalf of the nation's honor and integrity. He
was made first lieutenant of his company in Oc-
tober, 1862, prior to the battle of Stone River, in
which he was an active participant. He was
promoted to captain after the capture of Atlanta
in 1864 and received his honorable discharge, at
Springfield, Illinois, on the 6th of February,
1866.^
After the close of his military service Dr.
Smith returned to his former home, in Marion
county, Illinois, for the purpose of securing a
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
much needed rest, and there he purchased a
farm, which he operated by proxy. In 1868 he
made a vigorous campaign for the office of clerk
of the circuit court, and he states that in the
connection he was "defeated by a respectable
majority." In June, 1869, he was appointed by
President Grant as superintendent of Indian
schools for the northwest, Nez Perces, of Idaho;
Sho.shones, of Wyoming; and Red Clouds, of
South Dakota, resigning in February, 1872. In
October, 1872, Dr. Smith entered the employ of
the great publishing house of Lippincott & Com-
pany, of Philadelphia, and was assigned the man-
agement of their educational department for the
northwest. In the following year he wa's ap-
pointed steward of the Illinois state prison, at
Joliet, retaining this office until 1874, after which
he devoted his attention to his profession until
1882, when he came to South Dakota and took
up a claim in township 113, range 70, Hand
county, where he has ever since maintained his
home and where he has developed and improved
a valuable farm of six hundred and forty acres.
Five acres of his ranch are under cultivation and
the remainder is devoted to the raising of hay
and to grazing purposes. He raises an excellent
grade of live stock, giving special attention to
the breeding of horses, in which he has met
with marked success. He has not been actively
engaged in the practice of his profession for a
number of years, but still takes a deep interest in
the science and keeps in touch with the advances
made in the same.
Dr. Sinith has been an active factor in public
affairs ever since coming to the territory and
the state of South D&kota can find no one more
loyal to its interests than is he. He has been
a stanch supporter of the principles of the Re-
publican party from the time of its organization.
He was the first superintendent of schools for
Hand county and a member of the first state
constitutional convention, and in 1891 he was
"elected a member of the board of county com-
missioners of Hand county, serving three years,
during the last of which he was chairman of the
board. In 1892 he was the nominee of his party
for the state senate, but met the defeat which
attended the ticket in general throughout the
state. In 1902 he was elected to represent his
district in the lower house of the legislature,
serving during the ensuing general assembly
with marked ability and to the satisfaction of his
constituents who had honored him by their
preferment. He was chairman of the committee
on public health and also a member of the im-
portant committees on ways and means and edu-
cation. In March, 1902, the Doctor was made
the recipient of a beautiful gold-headed cane,
which was presented by the Aberdeen District
Medical Society, in recognition of his valuable
services as chairman of the house committee
first mentioned. The Doctor is a member of
Masonic fraternity and of the State Historical
Society. In religious matters he is liberal and
tolerant, having the deepest respect for the es-
sential spiritual verities.
On the 15th of July, 1872, Dr. Smith was
united in marriage to Miss Emma D. White, of
luka, Illinois. She was born in Bond county,
Illinois, and is a daughter of Robert F. White,
who was an honored pioneer of Illinois. Dr.
and Mrs. Smith have two sons, Lawrence N.
W., born in prison, Joliet, Illinois, April 6,
1874, and who is now on the home farm, and
Clarence I. W., who was born in Marion
county, Illinois, December 7, 1876, and is also
on the home farm.
LIZZIAM ARCH AM BEAN, who resides
in the pleasant village of Geddes, Qiarles Mix
county, is of English extraction and was born
in Canada, in the year 1833, being there reared
to the age of seventeen years and securing
limited educational advantages in his youth,
while he has been dependent upon his own re-
sources from his boyhood days and is worthy of
the honored American title of self-made man.
At the age noted he located in the lumbering dis-
trict of Wisconsin, where he secured employ-
ment in rafting logs down the Wisconsin river,
working in the great timber forests during the
winter months. He remained in Wisconsin
about four years and then went to St. Louis,
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
where he met a fellow countryman, with whom
he remained some time, having been employed in
the city and vicinity for two and one-half years,
at the expiration of- which he went down the
Mississippi river to Vicksburg, Mississippi,
where he remained one year. He then made the
trip up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers into
the territory of Dakota, arriving here in the year
1859. He found employment for two years at
Fort Randall, and he then began to contract for
the cutting of logs for use at the garrison, and
also got out considerable timber for use in the
building of boats. The white settlers were few
and far between during those early years, and
the great plains vvere swept by great herds of
buffaloes, while elk, deer and bears roamed
about almost unmolested, save as hunted by the
Indians. In 1862 Mr. Archambean was united
in marriage to Miss Adaline Vassor, and they
are the parents of ten children, Battia, Joseph,
Mary, Julia, Moses, Louis, Annie, Adeline, Josie
and Sophia. Mr. Archambean began farming
in South Dakota as early as the year 1867, and
he is at the present time the owner of two hun-
dred and forty acres of land, of which eighty
acres are under effective cultivation, while the
remainder is utilized principally for grazing
[lurposes. He rents the farm and is living prac-
tically retired in Geddes. He is a stanch ad-
lierent of the Democratic party, and served for
some time as road overseer, and both he and
his wife are communicants of the Catholic
church.
MARTIN HARRIS, of Clark, Clark county,
is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been
born in Portage county, Ohio, on the 2d of De-
cember, 1 83 1, and he is a son of Hosea and
Caroline (Skinner) Harris, the former of whom
w^as born in the state of New York and the lat-
ter in Massachusetts, while both families were
early founded in America. The father of the
subject removed to Ohio in the pioneer era in
that state, and there passed the remainder of his
life, having been a mason by trade and vocation.
Both he and his wife were persons of lofty integ-
rity, living earnest and worthy lives. Of their
four children one is now living, the subject of
this review, he having been the second in order
of birth. His mother died when he was a lad
of twelve years, and his father passed to his final
rest about six years later.
Martin Harris remained at the parental home
until the same was broken up by the death of his
mother, having in the meanwhile secured such
advantages as were afforded in the common
schools of his native county. At the age of
twelve years he became largely dependent upon
his own resources, and thus began the stern bat-
tle of life when a mere boy. He was employed
at farm work for several years, and then learned
the carpenter trade, as well as that of cabinet-
making, while thereafter he was employed as a
builder and in car shops, learning to be a skilled
draftsman in the meanwhile. About 1866 he
purchased a farm in Geauga county, Ohio, de-
voting his attention to its cultivation about seven
years, after which he was similarly engaged in
Marshall county, Indiana, until he came to South
Dakota. In 1S85 he disposed of his farm in the
Hoosier state, and came to Dakota territory, lo-
cating in Clark county, where he has ever since
resided. He took up two hundred acres of gov-
ernment land, in Merton township, and reclaimed
the same from its primitve condition, making it
a fertile and productive farm, while to the orig-
inal claim he added until he was the owner of a
well-improved ranch of two hundred acres,
equipped with high-grade buildings, in distinct
contrast to those which he built upon first com-
ing to the county, for his original dwelling was a
primitive sod house. Mr. Harris devoted him-
self zealously and indefatigably to the cultiva-
tion and improvement of his land, and with the
passing of the years gained a competency, which
enables him to pass the evening of his life in that
quiet and dignified repose which constitute the
just reward for his long years of earnest toil and
endeavor. In the spring of 1901 he disposed
of his farm and purchased a good residence
I property in the county seat, where he has since
lived retired from active business. In politics
Mr. Harris was formerly a Republican, but in
IIS2
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
later years has given his support to the Prohi-
bition party, being- a zealous advocate of the
temperance cause. He and his wife are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
have been active in good works and kindly deeds.
On the I2th of November, 1865, in Kent,
Portage county, Ohio, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Harris to Miss Eliza Ferris, who
was born in New York on the 31st of Januars-,
1832. being a daughter of John and Hannah
(Black) Ferris, the former a native of New
York and the latter of Massachusetts. They
removed to Ohio in 1834, and there passed the
remainder of their lives, Mr. Ferris having been
a shoemaker by trade and vocation. Mrs. Har-
ris was the youngest in a family of ten children,
of whom she is the only one yet living. The
subject and his estimable wife, who has been to
him a devoted companion and helpmeet, have
three children : Emma is the wife of Albert Bull,
who is engaged in the creamery business in
Parkston; Grant, who married Miss Ora Page,
deals in farm machinery in Clark, and Frank,
who married Miss Sadie Keling, now deceased,
is employed in the real-estate business in Clark.
HON. E. D. WHEELOCK is one of the pio-
neers of South Dakota, and has been actively
identified with the industrial and general busi-
ness interests of Codington county since its or-
ganization. He is now one of the oldest settlers
in the eastern part of the state, and it is but jus-
tice to say that few, if any, have been more prom-
inent than he in public affairs or have exerted
greater influence upon its material, political and
business history.
E. D. Wheelock combines in his physical and
mental make-up the best elements of New Eng-
land manhood, coming of that good old colonial
stock that figured so prominently in the struggle
for independence and in the war of 1812. The
Wheelock family is of English descent and was
represented in this country at an early period,
the American branch locating in Massachusetts,
when the few scattered settlements were but
niches in the almost impenetrable forests. Cyrus
Wheelock was a son of Henry Wheelock, a
farmer and cooper, who spent all his life in
Massachusetts. Cyrus Wheelock, also a native of
that state, was reared to agriculture, which he al-
ways followed. He married Lois Ober, whose
father, Peter Ober, also a descendant of an old
Massachusetts family, served in the war of 1812,
as did also Henry Wheelock, brother of Cyrus.
Cyrus and Lois Wheelock reared a family of five
children, three sons and two daughters.
E. D. Wheelock. son of Cyrus, was born April
5, 1847, in Johnson, Lemoille county, Vermont,
and in 1854 was taken to McHenry county, Illi-
nois, where he grew to maturity on a farm. After
attending the common schools he entered an acad-
emy at Wauconda, but soon laid aside his studies
and, though but a youth of sixteen, enlisted in
September, 1863, in Company G, Seventeenth
Illinois Cavalry, and served until honorably dis-
charged, in February, 1866, taking part in the
campaigns in Missouri and the southwest, his
command toward the latter part of the war being
sent to quiet the hostile Indians in Kansas and
Colorado.
In 1866 Mr. Wheelock went to Iowa, thence
the year following, to Steele county, Minnesota,
locating near Owatanna, where he engaged in
farming, which, with teaching, occupied his atten-
tion during the ensuing ten years. ^leanwhile he
learned the miller's trade, and followed the same
at intervals, but his chief employment was agri-
culture, which he prosecuted until 1878. In that
year he came to Codington county and took up
a homestead about three miles north of Water-
town, but for the last fifteen years his principal
business has been buying grain for the Atlas
Elevator Company, of Minneapolis, in connection
with which he carries on an extensive store at
Kampeska, of which place he is also postmaster,
having been appointed to the position in 1884,
when the office was established.
]\Tr. Wheelock carries a full line of general
merchandise and commands a lucrative trade.
He took an active interest in the organization of
the county, served for nine years as a member of
the board of coimty commissioners, and in 1805
was elected to the upper house of the state legis-
E. D. WHEELOCK.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
lature, where he earned the reputation of an able,
discreet and judicious member. Mr. Wheelock
has been prominent in the Repubhcan party, and
his efforts have made him one of the party leaders
in the count\-. He is a wide-awake, enterprising
and progressive business man, and his public
work has won him more than local repute. His
loyalty is of that kind which subordinates other
considerations to the puljlic good. He has been
successful in his business and has an ample com-
petence.
Mr. Wheelock was married April lo, 1869. to
]\Iiss Eliza McClelland, of Maine, but at that time
a resident of Freeborn county, Minnesota. She
is the daughter of William J. McClelland, one of
the pioneers of that state, and has borne her hus-
band eleven children, namely: Ruby L., wife of
O. M. Brown, of Watertown ; Bertha S. married
; Robert Lewis and lives in North Dakota ; Edwin
I\I.. a traveling salesman; Nellie G., now Mrs.
Fred 'SI. Ray, of North Dakota ; Emery F. ; Cy-
rus J. : Dickinson O. ; Benjamin H. died Febru-
ary 6. 1902, at the age of fourteen years: Clif-
ford R. and Warren W., the last two still mem-
! ters of the home circle.
Mr. Wheelock is an enthusiastic member of
the Grand Army of the Republic. In this connec-
tion it may be proper to state that his father also
j served from the beginning of the Civil war to
I its close as a member of Company F, Ninety-fifth
Illinois Infantry, and a brother. L. C. Wheelock,
was also in the same command and distinguished
himself.
CHARLES K. THOMPSON, whose finely
improved fann is located one and a half miles
-north of Northville, Spink county, was born in
Burlington, Kane county, Illinois, on the 2d of
February, i860, and is a son of T. J. and Han-
nah A. Thompson, both of whom were born in
^^'est Virginia, the former being of English and
Irish ancestry and the latter of English and
W^elsh. When they were children they accom-
panied their respective parents on their immigra-
tion to Illinois, making the overland trip from
West Virginia with wagons and becoming num-
bered among the early settlers of Kane county,
Illinois, where both were reared to maturity and
where their marriage was solemnized. There
the father of the subject continued to be
identified with agricultural pursuits until 1881,
when he came to South Dakota, where both he
and his wife passed the residue of their long and
useful lives, having been honored pioneers of
Spink county. They were accompanied by their
four sons and one daughter and all are still liv-
ing in the state except the youngest son, who
died in 189 1 in Northville, to which he had been
removed while sick.
Concerning the early experiences of the fam-
ily in South Dakota we are gratified to be able
to offer the following interesting little narrative,
contributed by the subject of this sketch: "I
came to the territory of Dakota in December,
1880, and first set my font on the ice-fettered
surface of the 'roaring Jim' river on Christmas
day. I came through from Watertown by team,
accompanied by my brother, J- R- Thompson,
who is now engaged in the practice of medicine
in Northville, and who had been in Spink county
with our father during the preceding summer
and broken a small portion on one of the claims
which had been taken up, while they had erected
a sod house and stable. Father desired to re-
turn to the old home in Illinois for the winter,
in the meanwhile making preparations for
bringing the remainder of the family to the new
home in the spring, together with the household
effects and other requisite supplies. He thus re-
quested me and my brother to come out and take
care of the stock and keep the primitive little
home cheerful during the intervening winter
months. Well, I discovered forthwith that this
was a big country and that the wind not only
had a great sweep but also that it swept! The
house had been roofed with boards covered with
tarred paper, and to keep the latter in place
stones had been placed on the corners. These
were not, however, sufficient to hold the roof so
closely to the sod as to prevent the gentle zephyrs
from sifting the 'beautiful snow' under the edge
of the roof and waking us from dreams of home
and loved ones. This was the season known as
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
the winter of the big snow, and the snow covered
our stable so completely that we were often
compelled to feed our stock through an opening
in the roof. As it was quite impossible for
horses to travel in the snow nearly all travel was
done on foot, by means of snow shoes. The
snowfall being unusual, the settlers had not pre-
pared for it, and their supply of flour was con-
sumed long before spring opened, and in many
cases wheat was taken miles to a neighbor who
was fortunate in possessing a coffee-mill in which
the cereal could be partially ground and thus
made available for food. As for my brother
and myself, we had buried near our house a
quantity of potatoes which were being reserved
for seed, and when necessity came we unearthed
these tubers and fared on the same ven.' well for
two or three weeks, having only salt to lend rel-
ish. It is my opinion that at that time we were
located farther to the west than any other settler
in the county. At least we saw nothing to the
west save occasionally a wolf or coyote. How-
ever, on a certain day about a hundred antelope
visited our ranch, and we succeeded in catching
one of the number, being unable to shoot any of
them as we had loaned our only gun to a neigh-
bor. \\'e attempted to domesticate the animal
which we had captured, endeavoring to teach it
to eat hay and adapt itself to the customs of civ-
ilization. Its refusal to comply with our in-
structions brought it to an untimely end, as we
were soon compelled to kill it. Finally came the
advent of spring : floods came ; folks came ; flow-
ers came; harvest came, and Dakota demon-
strated that she was a land of glorious possibili-
ties. All seemed to fall in love with their
adopted homes and felt that this land of sun-
shine had much to commend it to favor. While
in the early days many stories went forth to
frighten prospective settlers, the people of this
vicinity have had but one genuine scare, which
occurred in 1882. I remember that I had been
to Watertown and having secured a ride back as
far as the James river was proceeding thence on
foot to my home, when I met a man and woman
who were driving rapidly from the west with
their team and wagon and who stopped long
enough to inform me that the Indians were
southwest of Northville and moving toward the
town, on the warpath. This was somewhat dis-
quieting news and I hurried along to Mellette,
where I found the populace gathered at the
postoffice. listening to the many rumors which
were afloat concerning the Indian depredations.
I flien hastened on to my parents' home and
found some of the neighbors assembled there
and provided with divers sorts of firearms, good,
bad and indift'erent, while complete arrange-
ments were being made for defense, so far as
possible, against an attack. Northville sent out
scouts and it was soon found that the alarm
was without foundation, and peace and quiet
soon reigned again. All these scares are things
of the past and our section of the state is settled
in the main by good, substantial citizens, who
are in comfortable circumstances."
Mr. Thompson received his early educational
discipline in the public schools of Kane county,
Illinois, having attended the high school in
Geneva, and having supplemented this dis-
cipline by effective study in Pingree Seminary
and the Elgin Academy. He was -associated with
his father in the management of the home farm
until he had attained his legal majority, since
which time he has been engaged in the same
vocation for himself, having been prospered in
his efforts and now having one of the attract-
ive and well-improved farms of Spink county.
He gave his support to the Republican party
from the time of attaining his majority until the
close of the first administration of President ]\lc-
Kinley. since which time he has exercised his
franchise and lent his influence in support of the
Prohibition party. As a Republican, he was
elected to represent his county in the state legis-
lature in 1897, and in the session of the general
assembly had the honor of assisting in the elec-
tion of Hon. James H. Kyle to the United States
senate. He was reared in the faith of the Wes-
leyan Methodist church, of which both he and
his wife are members.
On the 2d of July, 1885. ]\Ir. Thompson was
united in marriage to Miss Flora B. Torrence,
who was born in Noble count^•, Ohio, on the 21st
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
155
of ]\Iav, 1869, being a daughter of James and
Sarah Jane Torrence, who were early settlers in
Spink county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have
five children, namely: Theos J., J. Gail, Lois H.,
Cita M. and John R.
JOHN W. SCHULTZ. one of the leading
merchants and representative citizens of Wes-
sington, Beadle county, is a native of Germany,
where he was born on the 23d of February,
1835. After his father's death the widow came
with her two sons and two daughters to America,
the family locating in Cincinnati. Ohio, where
she passed the remainder of her life, while of
the children our subject is now the only sur-
vivor. The early educational discipline of Mr.
Schultz was secured in the excellent schools of
his fatherland, and he was about fourteen years
of age at the time of the family emigration to
America. He thereafter attended the common
schools in Cincinnati, Ohio, and effectively sup-
plemented the training he had previously re-
ceived. After attaining years of maturity he
devoted his attention to farming in the old Buck-
eye state until 1855, when he came west as a
pioneer of the state of Iowa, locating in Du-
buque, Dubuque county, where he was engaged
in the mercantile business until 1882, in which
year he came to what is now the state of South
Dakota and became one of the early settlers of
Wessington, where he was engaged in the gen-
eral merchandise business until 1885, when he
removed to Hand county, which lies contigu-
ous on the west of Beadle county, and there suc-
cessfully continued farming until 1897, when he
returned to Wessington, where he now controls
the most extensive mercantile business in this
section, drawing his trade from a wide radius
of country and having the confidence and esteem
of the people of this locality, where he has made
his home for so many years. He is a straight-
forward and reliable business man, urbane and
courteous at all times and his name is a synonym
of honor and integrity wherever he is known.
He has ever been a stalwart advocate of the prin-
ciples and policies for which the Republican
party stands sponsor, and has been an active
worker in its cause. In 1894 he represented
Hand county in the state senate, where he made
a most creditable record. Though he was can-
didate on the Republican ticket in the preceding
election his personal popularity was such as to
enable him to overcome the large Populist ma-
jority which was normally given in Hand county
at that period, and his election was a merited
tribute of popular esteem and good will. He
also served one term as a member of the board
of commissioners of Hand county. He is
identified with the Masonic fraternity and the
Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen.
DUNC.A.N EARL, one of the successful
farmers and honored citizens of Davison county,
is a native of the dominion of Canada, having
been born in the province of Ontario, on the
20th of August, 1848. and being a son of Hiram
and .'\nn (Thompson) Earl, both of whom were
likewise native of Canada, the former being of
English lineage and the latter of Scotch. They
became the parents of twelve children, eight of
whom arc living, while the subject of this sketch
is the only representative of the family in South
Dakota.
Duncan Earl received his educational disci-
pline in the schools of his native province, where
he was reared to manhood and where he con-
tinued to follow various pursuits until August 13,
1882, when he came to the territory of Dakota
and took up government land in Davison county
and also purchased deeded lands, now having a
farm of six hundred and forty acres of most ara-
ble and valuable land, and having three hundred
and fifteen acres under eiTective cultivation, while
the permanent improvements are of substantial
nature, indicating the progressive spirit and
good management of the owner, who has ever
been known as a man of indefatigable industry
and sterling character. He is a stanch Repub-
lican in politics, and both he and his wife are
devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, in whose work he takes a very active
interest, being a member of the board of trus-
1 156
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
fees of the church of this denomination at Mount
Vernon, which is his postoffice address.
On the i8th of February, 1885, Mr. Earl
was united in marriage to Miss Abigail Higgin-
son, who was born in the province of Ontario,
Canada, being a daughter of William and Can-
dace (Atcheson) Higginson, her father having
been a prominent farmer and miller and having
accumulated a fortune through his own efforts,
iiis estate being valued at twenty thousand dol-
lars at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Earl
have one son, Lome Talmage, who was born on
the 27th day of February, 1891, and who has
been afforded excellent educational advantages.
Mr. Earl is public-spirited and progressive, his
name is a synonym of honor and integrity and
he commands the implicit confidence of the com-
munity in which he has resided for more than
a score of vears.
OLAl'S L. HANSON, a successful farmer
of Yankton county, is a native son of the state
and a representative of one of its honored
pioneer families. He was born in Yankton
county, territory of Dakota, on the 12th of Oc-
tober, 1867, and is a son of Lars and Anne Han-
son, jDoth of whom were Ixim in Norway. Lars
Hanson was born September 22, 1836, and in
1865 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Anne
Olson, who was born February- 10, 1839. In
1866 they emigrated to America and came forth-
with to the territory of Dakota, locating on the
faim which has ever since remained their home,
the same being on section 19, range 54, township
94, Yankton county, about two miles northeast
of the village of Mission Hill. They were
among the early settlers in the county and Mr.
Hanson secured his land by government entry,
while by well-directed industry he has attained
success and is one of the highly esteemed citizens
of the county.
The subject of this review received his early
education in the public schools of Yankton
countv and continued to assist in the work and
management of the home farm until he had at-
tained the age of twentv-one vears, when he en-
gaged in drilling artesian wells, to which line of
enterprise he devoted his attention for three
years, after which he farmed on rented land until
1898, when he purchased a farm of one hundred
and sixty acres, in township 94, range 34, where
he continued in agricultural pursuits for the en-
suing three years, at the expiration of which he
sold the property and purchased another farm of
equal area, in townsliip 94, range 55, about one
and one-half miles distant from Mission Hill,
where he is now successfully engaged in general
farming and stock growing.
In politics Mr. Hanson is a Republican and
from his youth up he has been a member of the
Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church at Mis-
sion Hill, of which his wife likewise is a devoted
member.
On the 14th of October, 1896, Mr. Hanson
married Miss Hulda Matilda Hanson, who was
born in Yankton county, July I, 1878, being a
daughter of Nicholas and Ingeborg Hanson, and
of this union have been born three children,
whose names with respective dates of birth are
here entered: Norman Ixroy, July 19, 1897;
Agnes Isabel, June 17, 1899; ''"'^ Hannah Olivia,
September 22, 1901.
CHARLES W. McDonald, who is the
honored judge of Jerauld county and a dis-
tinguished member of the bar of the state, was
born in St. Joseph county, Indiana, on the 23th
of July, 1845, being a son of Jeremiah and Elea-
nor (Almeda) McDonald, to whom were born
three sons and one daughter. The father of the
subject was a master ship carpenter, and was
born and reared in the state of Vermont, whence
he removed to Indiana prior to the advent af rail-
roads in the middle states. He died at Abilene,
Kansas, while his wife died in the Hoosier state.
The subject of this review completed the cur-
riculum of the common schools of his native state
and then entered the celebrated University of
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he continued his
studies for two years. He studied law under
an able preceptor in Mishawaka, Indiana, and
has ever lieen a close reader in a technical line,
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1157
so that he is thoroughly well informed in the
science of jurisprudence, having not only gained
I precedence as a strong trial lawyer and con-
servative counsel, but having also been signally
I fair and impartial in his rulings on the bench,
his decisions being based upon the proper ap-
plication of the law and equity involved. He
' came to what is now the state of South Da-
' kota in 1873 and in the year 1877 was admitted
to the bar of the territory of D&kota. He lo-
i cated in the city of Sioux Falls, where he con-
tinned in the practice of his profession until
1882, and in that place he was also the editor
and publisher of the Sioux Falls Independent,
which was subsequently merged into the Daily
Press, which remains one of the important papers
of the state. In March, 1882, Judge McDonald
': came to Wessington Springs, where he has since
I maintained his home and where he has been in
the active practice of his profession save for the
period which has represented his service on the
j bench. Upon the organization of Jerauld
j county, in 1884, he was appointed clerk of the
1 district court, and continuously held this office
I until the admission of South Dakota to the
i Union. He was elected state's attorney for
! Jerauld county in 1890, again in 1896 and re-
I elected in 1898. During two years, 1877-8, he
was probate judge of Minnehaha county. He
j was elected county judge of Jerauld county in
1900 and in 1902 he was again elected to this
, dignified and responsible office, of which he is
in tenure at the time of this writing. The Judge
; is a stalwart advocate of the principles and
\ policies of the Republican party and has been a
prominent figure in its councils in the territory
and state. He is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, his wife of the Free Methodist
i church, and fraternally he is identified with the
: Masonic order. It may be noted at this juncture
that Jerauld county was organized and settled
by temperance people, and there had never been
a saloon within its borders from the time of its
' erection until 1903. The subject is an uncom-
promising advocate of temperance and of the
prohibition of the liquor traffic through legal
measures.
In 1866 Judge McDonald was united in mar-
riage to Miss Clara P. Burr, of Mansfield, Ohio,
who died in 1879, being survived by one son,
Willis P)., who is now a resident of California.
( )ii the 17th of August. 1882. the Judge wedded
Miss Fanny M. Tofflemire, of Wessington
Springs, South Dakota, and they are the parents
of five children, namely : Robert F., Qiarles E.,
Walter H., Leigh L. and Almeda.
GEORGE AMASA PERLEY is a native of
the state of Wisconsin, having been born near
the village of Marquette, in what is now known
as Green Lake county, on the i8th of Novem-
ber, 1849. His father, Stephen Bartlett Perley,
was born in North Sanbornton. Merrimac
county. New Flampshire, and his wife, whose
maiden name was Sarah E. ^^'ells. was born in
P.radford, Susquehanna Cdunty. Pennsylvania,
both being of Puritan ancestry. The father of
the subject began his independent career as a
fanner on his own land, on which now stands
the village of Clinton Junction, Rock county,
Wisconsin, of which state he was a pioneer
settler. The subject relates appreciatively the
following incidents in regard to his honored
father : "When I was a child my father was
often spoken of as 'Old Ironsides,' by reason of
his physical prowess and agility. We had a
large horse, weighing sixteen hundred pounds,
and so great was its height that a young man
employed by my father found it impossible to
spring on the back of the animal from the
ground. Father was a man of about six feet
in height and at that time was fifty-five years
of age. He stepped to the side of the horse,
gave a spring and passed clear over the steed,
with perfect ease, landing squarely on his feet
on the opposite side. Near Schoolcraft, Michi-
gan, in 1845, he mowed with a scythe forty
acres of timothy hay in thirteen straight days, —
an average of more than three acres a day. He
was an accomplished vocalist, possessing a fine
tenor voice, and he was for some time a member
of a church choir in the city of Albany, New
York, where he was at the time employed in a
t58
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
spike factory, in which were made the spikes
used in the construction of the first railroad
built in the United States."
M. \'. B. Perley, of Georgetown, Massa-
chusetts, has traced tlie genealogy -of the Perley
family, through church and railitarv' records,
back to the middle ages and into Hungarv'. The
coat of arms shows a shield embellished with a
depiction of some sort of fruit, and the motto
used in the connection is "E fructibus noscitis
eos," meaning "By their fruits ye shall know
them." Allen Perley, a native of Wales, landed
at Charlestown, Massachusetts, July 12, 1630,
and from him the direct line of descent to the
subject is traced through Thomas,. Jacob, Jacob
(2d), John (who was killed in the war of the
Revolution), Nathaniel and Stephen B., the last
mentioned being the father of the subject of this
review. There are today about one thousand
Perley descendants in the United States.
George A. Perley received an academic edu-
cation in the Wesleyan Methodist Seminary, at
Wasioja. Minnesota, the greater portion of this
discipline having been secured after he had at-
tained manhood. Having been previously in the
employ of an experienced English editor and
appreciating the handicap entailed by ignorance,
he devoted a few years to arduous study and
found thereby a new world of thought and a
wider sphere of existence and action. He gave
up his studies, however, in the spring of 1876,
having succumbed to a vigorous attack of
"western fever." In April of that year he ar-
rived at the conclusion that the life of the
farmer was the most independent of all, if the
fortunate individual could own his own farm and
be free from debt. He made a prompt decision
one evening, and the next morning started on
foot for the nearest railway station, that of
Dodge Center, Minnesota, whence he started for
the great territory of Dakota. After reaching
Worthington, Minnesota, he went farther inland
on foot, and by securing an occasional ride with
freighters' teams, finally reached what is now
Moody county, the locality being then seventy
miles distant from any railroad, while there were
onlv three white families settled at Flandreau
at the time. He took up a homestead and a tree
claim, and has developed the property into one
of the best farms in this section of the state,
while he also owns an additional eighty acres of
school land, which he purchased a number of
years later, his homestead being located in
Grovena township and four miles southeast of
the thriving city of Flandreau. Of his life and
labors here we can not do better than to quote
the words of our subject himself: "Here I have
tried to live as independently as possible, even
to the part played in the field of politics. In the
early days a political nomination was equivalent
to an election, and party managers carried offices
in their vest-pockets. Public improvements
were extravagantly forwarded by shouldering
bonded indebtedness on those as yet unborn.
These principles I considered radically wrong,
and I joined with others in bringing about a
reformatory movement through the organiza-
tion of the Populist party, which finally became
defunct, through the compromising work of a
few who were willing to sacrifice principle for
the sake of the possibility of securing office at the
hands of fusion. During the Civil war the prices
of labor and all kinds of commodities were ven.^
much above the usual level, and after the close
of the great conflict a reaction naturally ensued.
At this time, for the conservation of their own
interests, an organized eflEort was advocated
among the farmers and resulted in the establish-
ing of the Patrons of Husbandry and the Grange.
'Pay as you go, and buy less' was the title of
my first paper read before a local assembly of one
of these organizations, and by following the plan
I thus advocated it has been possible for me
to keep on safe ground ever since. I had not
been long a resident of the territory before we
organized a Farmers' Alliance, while later we
organized a citizens' constitutional association,
having in view the interests of sta'tehood. In
this connection we voiced our sentiments at Can-
ton, on the occasion of the first general meeting
for the consideration of the matter of securing
admission to the Union. In the last of the ter-
ritorial days we had a Moody county legislative
association, the same having been projected
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
"59
mainly for the purpose of making an organized
effort against the everlasting bonding system
which townsite proprietors were so inconsist-
ently using at that time, prejudicial to the best
interests of the people. In September, 1889, I
was assigned work as local observer in connec-
tion with the United States signal service, and
have ever since held this position. I have been
secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Fire and
Lightning Insurance Company of Moody county
from the time of its inception, in 1889, and also
hold a similar position in the Co-operative Grain
Elevator Company. In 1903 a farmers' tele-
phone system has been installed, the lines cover-
ing a distance of twenty-six miles, and -this
service, owned and controlled by the farmers,
meets with marked appreciation and affords
facilities of great convenience and practical value,
effectively supplementing the rural free mail de-
livery and standing in marked contrast to the
advantages we enjoyed in the pioneer days."
In politics Mr. Perley maintains an independ-
ent attitude, and while he has a deep reverence
for the spiritual verities he is an avowed agnos-
tic, showing in this regard the courage of his
convictions, as does he in all other relations of
life. His family attend the Methodist Episcopal
church and contribute to its support. Of his life
and labors Mr. Perley has further spoken as fol-
lows : "As a young man I decided to try to do
something as a teacher in the public schools and
to thus make the world better for my having
existence. The continual strife for a position
and the dependent nature of the profession in-
clined me to adopt the noble vocation of farm-
ing, since in that I could tell the truth and ask
no favors. I found an open field that needed
working, in both politics and finance, and have
occasionally endeavored to lift some of the bur-
dens resting on the people. There is a grand
opportunity for labor on both sumptuary and
religious questions affecting the human welfare,
but the task looks so hopeless that one hesitates
to devote his energies to work along these lines.
As labor becomes more irksome I shall use my
poetic genius in the field of song. At present I
will close with this inspiration as a finale good
to sing over the grave of this portion of the
great American desert of my boyhood :
This old desert of a plain,
With its many fields of grain,
With its horses, hogs, and cattle yet
unsold.
Causes me to sing the strain,
While in plenty falls the rain,
We are happy with our grasses, grain
and gold.
On the 20th of July, 1880, in the city of
Sioux Falls, this state, Mr. Perley was united
in marriage to Miss Emma Rebecah Irish, who
was born and reared in Dbdge county, Min-
nesota, and who was for a number of temis a
successful teacher in the public schools of
Woodbury county, Iowa, holding a first-grade
certificate, and who is a sister of the noted
orator, Hon. John B. Irish, of Downieville, Cali-
fornia. The first American ancestor of the Irish
family came to this country from Wales, and he
was for a time in the employ of Miles Standish,
whose name is so well known in history and
story. :\Ir. and Mrs. Perley have two children,
namely: A daughter. Iva Chrysoma, born July
14, 1881, who is in her third year at the State
University at Vermillion. The son, Stephen
Elton, who was born March 12, 1883, has ended
his first year's study at the Brookings Agricul-
tural College.
JOHN CRAIGON BAIRD is a native of
Green Lake county, Wisconsin, the son of John
and Mary (McAdam) Baird, and he dates his
birth from the 8th day of February, 1858.
Reared on a farm and early taught the lessons of
industry and thrift which makes that pursuit
successful, he grew up with a full appreciation
of life and its responsibilities, and after acquir-
ing a fair education in the common schools, he
entered at the age of eighteen a store, where he
spent three strenuous years, during which time
he became familiar with the varied details of the
mercantile business. Resigning his clerkship at
the expiration of the period noted, he came to
South Dakota and settling in Hanson county.
ii6o
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
spent some time as manager of a branch store
belonging to William Van Epps, of Sioux Falls,
South Dakota. Severing his connection with
those gentlemen, he changed his abode to
Douglas county and filed on a homestead, chos-
ing for his location a fine tract of land about
three and a half miles east of Armour, which
he at once began to improve and for which in
due season he acquired a title from the govern-
ment. Shortly after selecting his homestead Mr.
Baird revisited his native state, and while there
was married, in 1879, to Miss Ella Whittemore,
who was also born and reared in Wisconsin.
Returning to South Dakota a little later, he took
up, in 1880, his permanent abode on the land
already referred to and since that time has
greatly improved the same, besides adding at
intervals to its area, until he now owns a fine
tract of four hundred and eighty acres, one hun-
dred and sixty of which are in a successful
state of cultivation.
Mr. Baird is an up-to-date agriculturist, well
acquainted with the nature of soils and their
adaptability to different crops, and. employing
modern methods and the latest and most ap-
proved implements and machinery, he realizes
bountiful returns from the time and labor ex-
pended on his farm. He is also engaged quite
largely in the live-stock business, raising large
numbers of cattle, horses and hogs, from the
sale of which is derived no small part of his in-
come. He has made many valuable improve-
ments on his place, has a substantial and at-
tractive residence and good outbuildings and his
home, situated in one of the finest sections of
Douglas county, indicates the dwelling place
of not only a man of enterprise and progressive
ideas, but a gentleman of intelligence, sound
judgment and excellent taste, as well. Person-
ally, he enjoys great popularity among his neigh-
bors and friends and as a citizen he is public-
spirited and a leader in all laudable movements.
He served eight or nine years as school clerk,
also held the office of township supervisor for a
considerable length of time and is now town-
ship treasurer.
Politically he is a pronounced Democrat, and
fraternally is identified with the Masonic brother-
hood, the order of Maccabees and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen.
Mr. and Mrs. Baird have a family of eight
children, whose names in order of birth are as
follows : Grace, \\'alter. John R., Maude, Rob-
ert. Agnes, Frank and Pearl, all living.
PAUL HEINTZ, one of the successful
farmers and representative citizens of Moody
county, comes of stanch German lineage and
is himself a native of the state of Minnesota,
having been born in Stearns county, on the 15th
of October, 1859. He is a son of Peter and
Margaret (Till) Heintz, the former of whom
was born and reared in Luxembourg, Germany,
and he continued to be there engaged in farm-
ing until his emigration to America, at the age
of twenty-five years. He was for a number of
years engaged in farming in Minnesota, whence
he came to Moody county. South Dakota, in
1874. here taking up a half section of govern-
ment land and improving the same, becoming
one of the prominent and successful fanners of
this section, where he passed the remainder of
his long and signally useful life, being eighty-
two years of age at the time of his death, which
occurred May 16, iqoi. He originally gave his
allegiance to the Democratic party, but in later
years supported the principles and policies of
the Republican party. His religious faith was
that of the Roman Catholic church, of which his
venerable widow is likewise a devoted member.
She now resides in Flandreau and is eighty-four
years of age at the time of this writing, in 1903.
Of this union were born ten children, and six
of the number are still living.
The subject of this sketch received his early
educational training in the public schools of
his native state and was a lad of fifteen years at
the time of the family removal to what is now
the state of South Dakota. He was reared to
maturity on the home farm in Moody county
and eventually engaged in farming on his own
account. He now has a finely improved and
valuable ranch of one hundred and sixtv acres.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
in Grovena township, his home being located
four miles south and one east of the thriving
village of Flandreau, which is his postoffice ad-
dress. Nearly the entire acreage of his fann is
under cultivation and he also devotes no little j
attention to the raising of a fine grade of short- ■
horn cattle and other live stock. In politics he
is found prominently arrayed in the ranks of the
Populist party, and takes a public-spirited inter-
est in the issues of the day and particularly in
local affairs. He has served as director and
treasurer of his school district, as a member of
the board of township trustees and as overseer
of roads, these various preferments indicating
the high esteem in which he is held in the com-
munity in which he has passed the major por-
tion of his life. He is a communicant of the
Roman Catholic church, his wife belonging to
the Methodist, and fraternally he is identified ]
with the lodge of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen at Flandreau.
On the 5th of January, 1890, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Heintz to Miss Rosa
Belle Roberts, daughter of Asahel and
(Hawkins) Roberts, well-known residents of
this county, and they are the parents of four
children, namely ; Beulah, Doris, Wallace and
Marv.
FRANK H. CRAIG, supervising mechanic
in connection with the Indian school maintained
at Greenwood, Charles Mix coimty, is a native
of the domain of Canada, having been born near
the city of Toronto, on the 28th of December,
1845, ^nd being a son of Davis C. and Mary J.
(Witherel) Craig, both of whom were born and
reared in the state of New York, whence they
removed to Canada, where they maintained their
home about eleven years, the father having been
a farmer and mechanic. In 1854 the family re-
moved to Elliota, Minnesota, locating in Fill-
more county, where the parents continued to re-
side until 1881, when they came to South Da-
kota, where the father of our subject took up
government land, in Fillmore county, there pass-
ing the remainder of his life. He died in June,
1901, his devoted wife having passed away in
September of the preceding year. They became
the parents of seven children, of whom four
are living, all being residents of South Dakota.
In early life Davis C. Craig was a Whig in
politics, but he identified himself with the Re-
publican party at the time of its organization
and was ever afterward a supporter of its cause.
He "enlisted as a member of Company C, Third
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, at the outbreak
of the Civil war, and was in active service about
four years. It may also be noted in the connec-
tion that the subject of this sketch enlisted in
Company A, Second Minnesota Cavalry, with
which he served about two and one-half years,
principally under General Sully and in connec-
tion with the Indian warfare in the northwest.
He received his honorable discharge on the 4th
of April, 1866, having made an excellent record
as a valiant and loyal soldier.
Frank H. Craig received a common-school
education and was about nine years of age at
the time of his parents' removal to Minnesota,
where he was variously employed for a number
of years, finally becoming identified with railroad
work, in which he was engaged up to the time
of coming to South Dakota, from Chicago, in
1879. He took up a homestead claim in Spink
county, on the i6th of June of that year, and
there continued to reside until 1891, having been
one of the early settlers of the county and one
of its popular and influential citizens. He
erected the first frame house in the county, and
the same was -used for some time as a court
house. He served for five years as a member
of the board of county commissioners and held
other local ofiices of trust, including those of
justice of the peace, while he was for many years
a school official. In politics he gives an un-
wavering allegiance to the Republican party and
has been an active worker in its cause. Fra-
ternally he is identified with Frankfort Lodge,
No. 7y, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons;
Redfield Chapter, No. 20, Royal Arch Masons;
Frankfort Lodge, No. 83, Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and to Sol Meredith Post,
Grand Army of the Republic.
Il62
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
In 1891 Mr. Craig disposed of his interests
in Spink county and took up his residence in
Greenwood, where he has since held the posi-
tion of government mechanic at the Indian
school, in which connection he has accomphshed
a most satisfactory work. He is the owner of
a fine ranch of five hundred and eighty-five
acres in Boyd county, Nebraska, and he is also
the owner of a fine herd of cattle on his ranch in
Nebraska. He has attained success since com-
ing to Dakota and is one of the loyal and public-
spirited citizens of the state.
On the 4th of July, 1868, at Harmony, Fill-
more county, Minnesota, Mr. Craig was mar-
ried to Miss Eliza M. Craig, who was born and
reared in Canada, being a daughter of John and
Elizabeth Craig, the former being a farmer by
vocation. Of this union were born eight chil-
dren, namely: Leslie, Herbert, Qaud and Neva,
who are deceased; Harold, who remains at the
parental home, as do also James E., Bessie and
Earl F.
ELISHA K. THOMPSON, one of the
honored pioneers of Charles Mix county, was
bom in Meigs county, Ohio, on the i8th of
March, 1822, being a son of Reuben and
Falindie (Kent) Thompson, both of whom were
born in the state of New York, while they be-
came the parents of five children, of whom two
are living. The father of the subject devoted
his life to agricultural pursuits, and both
he and his wife died in Ohio. The pa-
ternal ancestors on both sides were of
colonial stock and both families were rep-
resented by valiant soldiers in the war of
the Revolution, assisting in gaining the boon of
independence. Elisha K. Thompson received a
common-school education and was reared on the
homestead farm to the age of seventeen years,
when he came west to Illinois, where he worked
as a farm hand and ran on the Mississippi river
until his marriage, in 1847. He resided on his
farm in Ohio until 1861, when he went to White-
side county, Illinois, where he purchased land,
to whose cultivation he devoted his attention
about eight years. He then moved to Lyndon,
Illinois, where he invested in a pump works. In
1877 he disposed of the property and moved to
Iowa, where he purchased a farm in Sac county,
where he continued to follow agricultural pur-
suits for the ensuing five years, or until 1882,
when he came to South Dakota and took up a
homestead claim in Charles Mix county, and
on this property, now finely improved, he has
ever since continued to reside. When he came
to the county the settlers were few, and the In-
dians were found in the vicinity in considerable
numbers, but he found them at all times peace-
able and kindly. During the first season of
his residence in the county Mr. Thompson states
that he secured the best sod crops ever raised in
any locality, but the several years of drought
which followed brought financial ruin to many
of the settlers in this section. A radical change
later ensued, the rainfall being more copious
and regular, so that crop failures are practically
a thing of the past. Mr. Thompson has one
of the most attractive homes in the county, hav-
ing a substantial and commodious residence,
around which he has succeeded in raising some
very fine maple and cedar trees, which he per-
sonally planted and which have now attained
such a size as to make the home a picturesque
and beautiful one. In politics he was originally
a supporter of the Whig party, but upon the
organization of the Republican party he trans-
ferred his allegiance to the same and has ever
since been a stalwart advocate of its principles.
He has been a zealous member of the Methodist
Episcopal church for the past sixty years, and
his loved and devoted wife has also been a zeal-
ous worker in and a member of the church.
On the 13th of June, 1847, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Thompson to Miss Nancy
1 Oilman, who was born and reared in Meigs
county, Ohio, being a daughter of Henry Gil-
! man, a prominent farmer of that locality, where
he also conducted a large saddlery business for
many years. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson became
the parents of six children, one of whom died in
infancy. Of the others we ofifer the following
brief record : Reuben died at the age of eleven
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1 163
years; Nancy died at the age of ten years;
Emma is the wife of Henry Van Schoonhoven,
a prominent farmer of Charles Mix county ;
Edward, who married Miss Luki Tenny, is en-
gaged in the livery business at Platte, this
county; and Josephine is the wife of Clarence
Vermillion, the leading dry-goods merchant in
the citv of Mitchell, this state.
ROBERT GORDON, a well-known farmer
and stock raiser of Yankton county, was born
in northern Ireland on the 15th of September,
1833, his parents being John and Mai^ (Cane)
Gordon, who spent their entire lives on the
Emerald Isle, the father there devoting his
energies to farming. In 1856 Mr. Gordon of
this review came to the new world. He had been
educated in his native country and he was
trained to habits of industry and frugality. As
a young man of twenty-three years he crossed
the Atlantic and settled in Rhode Island, where
he was first employed in a sugar refinery, oc-
cupying a position for four years. On the ex-
piration of that period he removed to Lenawee
county, Michigan, where he purchased forty
acres of land, continuing its cultivation for four
years. He next spent one summer upon a farm
in Wisconsin and afterward removed to Porter
count}', Indiana, locating near Valparaiso.
Twelve years covers the period of his connection
with the farming interests of the Hoosier state
and the year 1878 witnessed his arrival in South
Dakota. Pie has since lived in this portion of
the country and as the years have gone by he
has gradually advanced until he now occupies an
enviable position upon the plane of affluence.
In 1856 Mr. Gordon was united in marriage
to Miss A. J. Barnes, a daughter of David and
Hannah (Speers) Bames, who were natives of
Scotland and spent their entire lives in the land
of the hills and heather. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon
have become the parents of eight children:
John, who married Lucy Robinson and is a
farmer; David, who is represented elsewhere in
this work; James, who married Anna Barnes
and is also engaged in farming: William, who
wedded Mary Christopherson and is operating
the home place; Mollie, the deceased wife of W.
J. Mann, an agriculturist ; and three, who have
passed away.
Mr. Gordon owns three hundred and twenty
acres of rich land, of which one hundred acres is
pasture land. He is a general farmer and also
raises stock, handling Hereford cattle and
Poland-China hogs, of a high grade. He has
also bought and sold stock, having all of his farm
products raised for this purpose. In his business
he has prospered because of his unremitting dili-
gence and his honorable methods. He is straight-
forward in all of his dealings and has never been
known to take advantage of the necessities of
his fellow men in any trade transaction. He has
planted all of the trees upon his place and his
splendidly developed property stands as a monu-
ment to his thrift and enterprise. For four
}ears he lost all that he raised because of the
grasshoppers and though many a man of less
resolute spirit would have been utterly discour-
aged he continued in his labors, working dili-
gently year after year until success has now
crowned his labors. He is a member of the Con-
gregational church and at all times his life has
been in consistent harmony with his professions
so that he is a gentleman of sterling worth, his
name being synonymous with integrity.
GEORGE BEATCH, one of the success-
ful representatives of the agricultural and stock-
growing industries of Hanson county, is a native
of Houston county, Minnesota, where he was
born on the i6th of October, 1871, being a son
of John and Annie (Goetzinger) Beatch, both of
whom were born and reared in Gennany. The
father of the subject came to America in 1854
and located in the state of Ohio, where he was
engaged in farming for four years, at the ex-
piration of which he removed to Minnesota, tak-
ing up government land in Houston county and
becoming one of the successful pioneer farmers
of that section, where he continued to make his
home until 1882, when he came with his family
to Hanson county. South Dakota, where he and
1 164
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
his sons took up government land under the
homestead laws, being now associated in the
ownership of a fine farm of two hundred and
forty acres, of which one hundred and ten are
under cultivation. The subject is also one of
tJie successful stock raisers of the county, where
he has been indefatigable in his efforts, assist-
ing in developing the great resources of this sec-
tion of the state. His boyhood days were passed
on the homestead farm in Minnesota, in whose
public schools he secured his early educational
training, later attending the schools in South
Dakota. He is one of a family of eight children,
the others being Fhilip, Maggie, Kate, John,
Mary. Minnie and Annie, and the parents and
all the children are residents of South Dakota.
Mr. Beat ch is a Democrat in his political pro-
clivities ; fraternally is identified with Spencer
Lodge, No. 47, Ancient Order of United Work-
men, at Spencer, South Dakota, of which his
brother John is likewise a member, while the
familv are valued members of the Lutheran
church.
DAVID S. GORDON, a native of the mid-
dle west, manifests in his life the spirit of
activity and energy so typical of this section of
the country. He was born in Lanawee county,
]\Iichigan, July 20, 1863, ^"d is of Scotch-Irish
lineage, the family originating in Scotland,
although Robert and Jane (Barnes) Gordon,
the parents of the subject, came to America from
the north of Ireland. It was in the year 1857
that the father crossed the Atlantic and took up
his abode in Rhode Island, where he remained
for four years, removing then to Michigan in
1861. Purchasing a farm in Lenawee county he
continued its cultivation for two years and then
he sold his property and went to Wisconsin.
After a short time, however, he removed to In-
diana in 1865 and bought a farm in Porter
county, making it his home for a few years. For
four years he lived in Lake county, that state,
where he also carried on agricultural pursuits
and in 1878 he brought his family to South
Dakota, establishing: his home in Yankton
county. Here he purchased three hundred and
twenty acres of government land, upon which
not a furrow had been turned or an improve-
ment made. He built a shanty and also a dug-
out and four years later he erected a nice resi-
dence. He has also built large barns upon his
place and still occupies the old homestead, which
he has developed into a splendid farming prop-
erty, its rich fields and excellent improvements
giving evidence of his careful supervision and
enterprising spirit. Both he and his wife are
members of the Congregational church and in
its work he takes an active and helpful part.
His political faith is that of the Republican party.
Unto Mr. and ^Irs. Gordon have been born
seven children : Hannah, who died in infancy,
as did the second child ; R. J., who married Miss
Dunlap and after her death wedded Lucy Robin-
son, his home being now in Viborg, South Da-
kota. He has a family of four children and he
owns eleven hundred and twenty acres of land,
but is living retired in the enjoyment of the
fruits of his former toil. Mary J., born Novem-
ber 3, 1861, became the wife of M. J. Mann, who
has resided in South Dakota since 1886 and is
now a farmer of Yankton county. They had
four children and on the 15th of May, 1902, Mrs.
Mann departed this life. David is the next
younger. James B. wedded Mrs. Mallons and is
a farmer of Edwards county. South Dakota. He
had three children, of whom two are now de-
ceased. William C. married ]\lary Qiristoperson
and has three children, their home being on the
old homestead. All of the children were pro-
vided with good educational privileges and three
of the number have been successful teachers.
]\Irs. Gordon died November 2, 1903.
Like the others of the family, David S.
Gordon attended the public schools and _ in his
youth he was also trained to the work of the
home farm, remaining with his father until
nineteen years of age, when he began teaching
school. When twenty years of age he rented a
farm and thus continued to operate land for
several years. In the spring of 1884 he bought
one hundred and sixty acres on Clay creek,
Yankton countv, all of which was wild, but he
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
165
has placed many improvements upon the land,
has built a fine residence, a large and substantial
barn, has planted trees and now has a very de-
sirable property, attractive in appearance. His
farm comprises altogether two hundred acres
and in connection with the cultivation of the
fields he raises high grades of cattle and hogs.
On the 20th of April, 1899, Mr. Gordon was
uniteil in marriage to Miss Bertha, a daughter of
John H. and Elizabeth (Hormel) Rinker, both
of whom were natives of Iowa and at an early
day came to South Dakota. The father was
identified with agricultural interests for many
years and became a well-known farmer but is
now living in Sioux Falls. His wife, however,
has passed away. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gordon
have been born three children : Ethel E., whose
birth occurred January 15, 1901 ; Adaline M.,
who was born September 20, 1902, and Robert
J., born July 10. 1903. Mr. Gordon endorses
the principles of the Republican part\- by cast-
ing his ballot for its candidates.
FRED JACOBS.— The sons of Switzerland
have ever been noted for courage and fortitude
and for loyalty to their honest convictions and
the life record of Fred Jacobs exemplifies those
sterling traits of character which have ever
marked the sons of the Swiss nation. He was
born in Berne on the 15th of April. 1844, and is
a son of John Jacobs, who never left his native
country. The subject acquired a good education
there and lived a life of energy and activity, but
believing that his labors would prove more ef-
fective in gaining succes in the new world, he
came to the United States in 1884. Yankton
county was his destination and he made his way
by the Missouri river until he reached this sec-
tion of the state. He rented land for nine years
and then with the capital he had acquired through
his own energy and determination he purchased
three hundred and twenty acres of land. Since
that time he has sold a portion, but still retains
possession of two hundred and forty acres. He
has planted all of the trees upon his farm and
has made all of the improvements, including the
erection of splendid buildings. His fields are
well tilled and he raises good grades of stock.
One hundred and eighty acres of his land is
under cultivation and the remainder is devoted to
pasturage purposes. Each year he raises a large
number of hogs and also makes a specialty of
Hereford cattle.
In 1866 Mr. Jacobs was united in marriage
to Miss Magdalena Kupfer, a daughter of Jacob
Kupfer, who was a stone-mason and spent his
entire life in Switzerland. This worthy couple
have become the parents of nine children : Rob-
ert, who married Bertha Ezely and is a fanner
and dain-man : Emil, deceased; Fred, who
wedded Eliza Nordheck, and is a harness maker
of Yankton ; Alfred, who married Carrie Thomp-
son and served in the Philippine war as a mem-
ber of Company M, First Regiment of South
Dakota Volunteers, while now he is engaged in
farming; Max, who wedded L. Peterson, now
deceased, and who is a cook in Montana; Ida,
the wife of Leonard McCone, a liveryman of
Nebraska ; Herman, who is assisting in the oper-
ation of the home farm ; and Paul and Edward,
who are under the parental roof. The children
have attended the public schools and have been
carefully trained in habits of industry and up-
rightness. In his political views Mr. Jacobs is
an earnest Republican and all of his sons support
the same party, while five of them belong to the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr.
Jacobs holds membership in the Congregational
church and has ever been interested in the move-
ments and measures pertaining to general prog-
ress and improvement. The cause of education
has found in him a warm friend and he has co-
operated in many measures for the public good.
FREDERICK RITTER, a prosperous
farmer and stock raiser of Jefiferson township,
Bon Homme county, is a native of Germany,
born in the kingdom of Hanover, August 22,
1 84 1. His father, also named Frederick, died in
Hanover, at the age of forty-two, and later the
mother came to America and settled in Iowa,
where her death occurred some years ago.
1 66
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Frederick and Catherine (Bloom) Ritter reared
a family of three children, one son, the subject of
this review, and two daughters, the older of
whom, Christina, married Henry Rhoderwolt
and the younger, Louisa by name, having died
in the land of her birth.
Frederick Ritter was reared and educated in
Hanover and at the age of twenty began life
for himself as a carpenter. Shortly after leav-
ing home he came to America, arriving in this
country in 1864 and settled at Richton, Cook
county, Illinois, where he worked at his trade
during the ensuing eight years, meanwhile ac-
cumulating a handsome property, consisting of
several lots and five and a half acres of valuable
land in the vicinity of the town. Disposing of
these possessions in 1871, he started west and
in the spring of the following year settled in
Butler county, Iowa, where he followed his
chosen calling until 1881. In the spring of the
latter year Mr. Ritter came to Bon Homme
county, South Dakota, and took up a quarter sec-
tion of land in Jefferson township, which he still
owns and on which he has made a number of
substantial improvements, converting it into one
of the most productive and desirable farms in the
neighborhood. He has also added to his realty
from time to time and now owns five hundred
and sixty acres of as fine land as the county of
Bon Homme can boast, the greater part of which
is under a high state of cultivation, besides con-
taining good buildings, fences and many other
evidences of prosperity. He is an enterprising
farmer and since coming west has taken advan-
tage of every opportunity to improve his financial
condition, ranking at the present time with the
leading agriculturists and stock raisers of Bon
Homnie county, as well as enjoying high stand-
ing as an energetic, public-spirited man of af-
fairs.
Mr. Ritter not only erected all the buildings
on his own place, but has also done considerable
mechanical work in the neighborhood and
throughout the county. He is a skillful carpenter
and for several years after coming to this state
his services were in great demand, many of the
best residences, barns and other buildings in the
surrounding country bearing evidence to his
efficiency as a master of his trade. In politics
Mr. Ritter votes for the man instead of party
and advocates principles which in his judgment
make for the best interests of his countn'. In
religion he subscribes to the Lutheran creed and
for a number of years has been a faithful and
consistent member of the church, contributing
liberally of his means to the support of the local
congregation to which he belongs.
In the year 1862 Mr. Ritter was united in
marriage with Miss Dorothee Deerking, also a
native of Hanover, the union being blessed with
ten children, namely : Fred, Jr., a fanner and
stock raiser of Charles Mix county, South Da-
kota ; Charles, who is interested with his father
in farming and the live-stock business ; Henry,
also at home and a partner of his father and older
brother; William, a resident of Charles Mix
county, and a farmer by occupation ; Annie, wife
of Fred Rabece. of the above county ; Frank,
a member of the home circle ; Dora, now Mrs.
Henry Evers. of Charles Mix ; Helen, Walter and
George.
FRANK GABRIEL HERRON. one of the
successful business men of Sioux Falls, where
he conducts a well-equipped grocery establish-
ment, was bom on a farm in Vernon county,
Wisconsin, on the i6th of August, 1857, and is
a son of William A. and Mira Herron, both of
whom are now living in Sioux Falls, while both
were natives of Athens count}', Ohio, and repre-
sentatives of pioneer families of the old Buckeye
state. When the subject was about twelve years
of age his parents removed to Warren county,
Iowa, and in the public schools of Indianola, the
county seat, he received his early educational
training. In 1875 he entered upon an apprentice-
ship to the printer's trade, in the office of the
Indianola Herald, becoming a skilled workman
and being engaged in the work of his trade for
several years. In 1883 he came to South Da-
kota and took up his residence in Huron and was
in business there for five years. In 1888 he re-
moved to Sioux Falls and until March, 1902, he
was employed as foreman in the Brown &
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Saeng:er printing establishment, but gave up that
position and, with his son, Bert, established his
present prosperous business enterprise, and they,
under the firm name of Herron & Son, have
gained a place of prominence in the commercial
life of the city. In politics Mr. Herron is a
stanch Republican but has never sought official
preferment, and fraternally he is identified with
the local organization of the Masonic order and
its adjunct, the Order of the Eastern Star, and
also with the Royal Arcanum, the Ancient Order
of United Workmen and the Fraternal Order of
Eagles.
On the 28th of November, 1883, Mr. Herron
was united in marriage to Miss Ida A. Tisdale,
who was born and reared in Lake City, Minne-
sota, being a daughter of Luther J. and Adaline
Tisdale, and of this union have been born four
children, of whom three are living: Bert F. was
born October 11, 1884; Roy was born January
II, 1888, and died on the 7th of February of the
following year; Mabel R. was born January 2,
1889; and Charles L., March 6, 1890.
GEORGE SPURRELL, one of the repre-
sentative farmers and stockmen of Bon Homme
county, is a native of the Hawkeye state, having
been born in the city of Sabula, Jackson county,
Iowa, on the 3d of January, 1855, and being a
son of James and Eliza (Ward) Spurrell, both
of whom were born and reared in England,
where they were married and where four of their
children were born. In 1854 they emigrated
thence to the United States and located in Jack-
son county, Iowa, thence in 1855 removed to
Clinton county, Iowa, where Mr. Spurrell be-
came a prominent and successful farmer, being
one of the honored pioneers of that section and
one who wielded no little influence in the com-
munity. He continued to reside on the old home-
stead until he was summoned from the scene of
life's endeavors, his death occurring on the 15th
of May, 1900, at which time he was seventy-
seven years of age. He was a Republican in
his political proclivities, and was a consistent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as
is also his widow, who still resides on the old
home farm. Of their six children we enter tlie
following brief record : Anna died in childhood,
before the removal of the family to America ;
Walter, who was a soldier in the Second Iowa
Cavalry Regiment during the war of the Re-
bellion, died in 1901 ; John is a resident of Wall
Lake, Sac county, Iowa; Arthur has the man-
agement of the old homestead farm in Iowa, and
also owns six hundred and forty acres in South
Dakota ; George is the immediate subject of this
sketch ; and Ellen is married to Seth L. Collins,
of Goose Lake, Iowa.
George Spurrell was reared to manhood on the
home farm and secured his educational discipline
in the excellent schools of Iowa. At the age
of twenty-one years he initiated his independent
career, becoming at that time dependent upon his
own resources, and he has worked his way to
success through the medium of energy, industry,
integrity of purpose and good management. He
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land
in Sac county, Iowa, and was there engaged in
farming for three years, after which he was en-
gaged in the same line of enterprise in Plymouth
county, that state, until 1891, when he sold his
farm of one hundred and sixty acres and re-
moved to Rock county, Minnesota, where he pur-
chased land and also engaged in the real-estate
business, retaining his residence there about eigh-
teen months. He then, in August, 1893, came to
South Dakota and purchased a ranch of two hun-
dred and forty acres in Springfield township,
Bon Homme county, where he has since re-
mained. He has made many improvements on the
place, including the remodeling of the house, and
the ranch is one of the most attractive and valu-
able properties in this section, being devoted to
diversified agriculture and to the raising of excel-
lent grades of live stock, including shorthorn
cattle, sheep, swine and horses. Mr. Spurrell is
also the owner of two hundred and forty acres of
land in Wilson county, Kansas, the same being
located in the oil district, and this property he
rents. He has owned property in several other
states, and has traveled somewhat extensively,
having visited various sections of the Rocky
ii68
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
mountains and owning interests in the gold fields
of Colorado. In politics Mr. Spurrell is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican
party. While a resident of Iowa he served as
justice of the peace, but he has never been ambi-
tious for official preferment.
On the 8th of April, 1882, Mr. Spurrell was
united in marriage to Miss Christine Kruser, of
Wall Lake. Iowa. She was born and reared in
Denmark, being a daughter of Maren and Peter
P. Kruser, who eiuigrated to the United States
in 1881, and who are now dead. Of the five
children of Mr. and Mrs. Spurrell we enter the
following brief data : Melvin J. died at the age
of sixteen months ; Marvin is at the parental
home; Cora and Ida are attending the Spring-
field State Normal School, and Elmer J. is the
youngest member of the family, being nine years
of age at the time of this writing, and is also at-
tending the Normal School. Mrs. Spurrell and
Cora are members of the Congregational
church.
WILLIAM J. ROBINSON.— No better in-
dex of the material prosperity and general status
of any community can be found than in its news-
paper press, and in this respect South Dakota
is favored in having ably conducted and progres-
sive papers in its various cities and towns, the sub-
ject of this review being the editor and publisher
of the Avon Qarion, at Avon, Bon Homme
county, and having made his enterprise one of
successful order as representative of the interests
of the attractive town and its surrounding coun-
try. He is a thorough newspaper man and the
Clarion maintains a high standard of excellence
from both an editorial and mechanical standpoint,
being a five-column quarto and being issued on
Thursday of each week.
Mr. Robinson was born in Delaware county,
Iowa, on the 14th of November, 1854, being a
son of James and Mary A. (Gregg) Robinson,
of whose twelve children he is the eldest of the
nine surviving, a brief record concerning the oth-
ers being here incorporated : Margaret is the wife
of Christy Bleakly, of Galva, Iowa ; Dr. Thomas
is a practicing physician at Gallup, New Mexico ;
Robert R. is a prominent capitalist and promoter
of Manchester, Iowa, a-nd served for twelve years
as auditor of Delaware county, that state ; Eliza
is the wife of Rev. James P. Perry, a clergyman
of the Methodist Episcopal church ; Alexander
has charge of the old homestead farm, in Dela-
ware county, Iowa ; John B. is a successful ranch-
man near Oakdale, Nebraska : Henry E. is a
member of the Hollister Lumber Company, of
Manchester, Iowa, and is manager of its yards
at Elkport, Illinois ; and Gregg C. is likewise
a member of that company and resides in Man-
chester, Iowa. The parents of the subject were
both born in the north of Ireland, whence they
came to the LTnited States when young, their
marriage having been solemnized in the city
of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1853. Immediately
afterward they removed to Delaware county,
Iowa, becoming pioneer settlers of that state, and
there he invested his available cash in land, be-
ing able to buy only forty acres. James Robinson
was a man of ability and had received excellent
educational advantages for his day, having at-
tended school in Pittsburg after coming to the
L'^nited States and having been there reared in
the home of his uncle, who took much interest in
the young man. He had the prescience to recog-
nize the possibilities in store for Delaware county
through its agricultural development, and upon
locating in Iowa in the early days he was able
to secure land for about one dollar and a quarter
an acre, and after securing his original tract he
bent every energy to developir>g his property,
investing every dollar which he could spare in
adding to the area of his landed property and fin-
ally becoming the owner of ten quarter-sections
of the best land to be found in Delaware county,
and how his faith has been justified needs no fur-
ther voucher than to state that the land is now
worth one hundred dollars or more per acre. He
is now one of the substantial and successful citi-
zens of the county, retaining possession of all the
land which he has acquired, while he still resides
on the old homestead farm, being about eighty-
five vears of age and being one of the honored
pioneers of the state. He lias done much to as-
WILLIAM J. ROBINSON.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
169
sist his friends in a financial way and has con-
tributed in large measure to the development and
progress of Delaware count), where he is held
in the highest confidence and esteem. While he
has never sought political preferment he has been
called upon to serve in the various local offices of
trust and responsibility. He is a man of strong
individuality and pronounced views and wields
a marked influence in his community, while his
inflexible integrity has gained to him the respect
of all who know him. He is a stanch Republican
in his political proclivities, and both he and his
wife are consistent members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. His ancestors were prominent
in the early wars in which England was involved,
representatives of the family having been with
Cromwell in the battle of Waterloo, having been
members of the Enniskillen Dragoons, one of the
regiments held in reserve to combat Napoleon's
life guards, whom they defeated in a fierce con-
flict.
\\'illiam J- Robinson, the immediate subject of
this sketch, was reared on the old homestead
farm in Iowa, attending school during the win-
ter months and assisting in the work of the farm
during the summer seasons. In the autumn of
1869, when fifteen years of age, he was matricu-
lated in the Upper Iowa University at Fayette,
Iowa, where he continued his studies about five
years, being there graduated as a member of the
class of 1875, and having received from his alma
mater the degrees of Bachelor and Master of
Arts. The year prior to and that following his
graduation he was employed as a teacher in the
imiversity, having full charge of the department
•of mathematics, in which science he excelled.
After leaving the university he taught in the pub-
lic schools of Iowa until 1889, when he took
charge of a small college in Tennessee, but he
was not pleased with the outlook and retained
the incumbency only one year, at the expiration
of which he came to Bon Homme county, South
Dakota, and purchased a quarter section of land,
in Albion precinct, where he was engaged in ag-
ricultural pursuits and stock growing until 1901,
when he sold his property and purchased a quar-
ter section in Sanborn countv. In the autumn of
1902, he left the ranch and took up his abode in
Avon, where he purchased the plant and business
of the Clarion, which newspaper he has since con-
ducted with marked ability and discrimination,
making it one of the best county papers in the
state. While residing on his ranch he devoted
special attention to the live-stock industry, leasing
large tracts of land from the Indians and util-
izing the same for the grazing grounds for his
cattle. He is a man of high intellectuality and
much business acumen, and the town of Avon is
fortunate in having secured his interposition as
editor and publisher of its local paper. In poli-
tics Mr. Robinson gives his allegiance to the Re-
publican party, of whose interests his paper
proves an efifective exponent. In the autumn of
1894 he was elected superintendent of schools of
Bon Homme county, and was returned to this of-
fice as his own successor in i8q6, while in 1902
he was again a candidate for the position, but
through a technicality several votes cast in his
favor were thrown out, giving the victorv to his
opponent, who was elected by a majority of only
two votes. Fraternally he is identified with Avon
Tent, No. 66. Knights of the Maccabees.
On the 4th of August. 1875, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Robinson to Miss Emma E.
Glasner, who was a fellow student at the Univer-
sity of Upper Iowa, her home being in Favette,
that state, and of this union have been born four
sons — William L. and Robert R., who are editors
and publishers of the Tyndall Tribune, at Tyndall,
this county ; and Leon A. and Earl V., to whom
their father will transfer the control of the Avon
Clarion in the near future. On August 18, 1903,
Mr. Robinson was appointed postmaster at Avon,
which position he still holds.
JOSIAH SHELDON.— For a number of
years the subject of this review has been very
closely identified with the history of Lincoln
county. South Dakota, being one of the early
settlers and substantial citizens of this part of
the state and the founder of the thriving town of
Lennox, in which he now resides. Josiah Shel-
don embodies many of the sturdy elements of New
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
England manhood and traces his genealogy to an
early period in the history of Vermont, of which
state his parents, Samuel and Lavina (Ballard)
Sheldon, were natives, both born, reared and
married in the old county of Franklin. About
the year 1850 Samuel Sheldon migrated to Dane
county, Wisconsin, of which he was an early
settler, and there took up a tract of government
land which he cleared and converted into one of
the most productive farms in that part of the
state. He was a successful agriculturist, a worthy
citizen and lived on the place he originally
located until his death, which occurred in 1876,
his second wife, the subject's mother, departing
this life in 1858. By a previous marriage with
Permelia Martin, who died in Vermont, he had
one child, a son, by the name of Nelson, and to
his union with Lavina Ballard four children were
born, namely : Harmon, who, with the subject, laid
out the town of Lennox, South Dakota, but who
is now living a retired life in Wright county,
Minnesota ; Polly, wife of Sebastian Basford,
of Qear Lake, Iowa ; Josiah. of this review, and
Desire, twins, the latter, who married William
Dunlap, dying in the year 1887. By his third
wife, Emma Ross, Mr. Sheldon was the father
of one child that died in infancy.
Josiah Sheldon is a native of Franklin county,
Vermont, where his birth occurred in the year
1842. He enjoyed but limited educational ad-
vantages, never attending school after his six-
teenth year, and when old enough to work he
took his place in the fields, where he labored
early and late, helping to run the farm and con-
tributing to the support of the family. After re-
maining at home until attaining his majority he
started out to make his own way and from 1850
to 1876 followed agricultural pursuits in Minne-
sota, removing the latter year to South Dakota
and taking up a claim in the northern part of
Lincoln county, where the village of Lenno.x now
stands, this thriving town being a part of the
original quarter section which he purchased from
the government. In addition to this land he also
entered one hundred and sixty acres about one
and a half miles west of Lennox and in 1890, in
partnership with his brother, laid out the town and
began a series of improvements which in due
time attracted a thrifty class of people to the lo-
cality, many of whom purchased lots and became
permanent residents.
Mr. Sheldon moved to the present site of the
village before the advent of the Chicago, Mil-
waukee & St. Paul Railroad in 1879 and donated
about forty acres of his land for town purposes,
selling all the rest except two lots which he re-
served for his own use. He was a member of
the first board of trustees of Lennox and in that
capacity did much to advance the interests of the
town and promote its growth, lending his influ-
ence to every enterprise calculated to stimulate
business and industry, at the same time giving
an earnest and whole-hearted support to meas-
ures having for their object the social, intellec-
tural and moral well-being of the community.
In his political affiliations Mr. Palmer is a
Republican and he has long been a factor of con-
siderable importance in local party circles, be-
sides manifesting an active interest in district and
state affairs, laboring diligently during cam-
paigns and contributing not a little to the success
of the ticket as an organizer and worker. His
fraternal relations are represented by the Ma-
sonic order, belonging to Lodge No. 35, at Len-
nox, and the Grand Army of the Republic Post,
No. 2T, which meets at Elsworth, his right to
membership in the latter organization depending
upon the three years which he gave to the serv-
ice of liis country during the dark and troublous
period of the Civil war. Mr. Palmer, on October
18, i86r, enlisted at IMt. Pleasant, Iowa, in Com-
pany C, Fourth Iowa Cavalry, which was as-
signed to duty in the Army of the Southwest,
where he took part in several noted battles, in-
cluding, among others, the siege of Vicksburg,
and many minor engagements, to say nothing of
the long, tiresome marches in which he took
part and the numerous vicissitudes and hardships
endured while defending the flag and upholding
the integrity of the Republic. He was discharged
December 5, 1864, at Memphis, Tennessee, with
an honorable record, and since leaving the army
he has been as earnest and loyal to the govern-
ment as when fighting in its behalf on Southern
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
battlefields. Mr. Palmer is one of the well-known
and widely respected men of Lincoln county, who
has dignified every station to which called and
whose influence has ever been exercised on the
right side of every moral issue. Those who
know him best speak in complimentary terms of
his many excellent characteristics and his record
in the past may be taken as an earnest of con-
tined usefulness and prosperity in years to come.
HARRY L. BRAS, educator, legislator, pub-
lisher, postmaster, promotor, politician and all-
round good citizen, is a leader among the repre-
senative young men who have brought South
Dakota to its present high place in the union of
states. Energy and persistence are the prime
qualifications which have won for him a most en-
viable position in the state. Few indeed are the
enterprises for state development either upon ed-
ucational or material lines in which he has not
been 'prominently identified. As teacher, school
superintendent and publisher of the state's leading
educational journal he has made his impress upon
the educational policy of the state for all of the
period of statehood and before. As a legislator
he introduced and pressed to passage the pres-
ent efficient law for the inspection of food stuflfs
and dairy products, as well as many other im-
portant pieces of legislation. As a loyal citizen
of his own city he organized the movement for
the removal of the capital from Pierre to Mitchell
and was by his neighbors made the manager of
the pending campaign for capital removal before
the people.
Mr. Eras is the son of Leonard Bras, a suc-
cessful lawyer, and Mary Hannah DeMott,
of South Bend, Indiana. He therefore possesses
that mixture of French and German blood
which has produced so many strong and notable
men. His parents located at Toolsboro, Louisa
county, Iowa, where Harry was born October
i6, 1862. In 1867 his family removed to New
Boston, Illinois, and there he received a thorough
common and high-school education and then
took a course in the Illinois State Normal
University and later completed his studies in
the Lfniversity of South Dakota. For three years
he engaged in teaching in Illinois and then,
locating at Mount Vernon, Davison county.
South Dakota, he took up a tract of government
land, but continued to teach for three years, at
the end of which period he was elected county
superintendent of schools. The country was
new, the school system crude, lacking in uni-
formity and coherence, but he set to work
promptly to reduce it to a practicable working
system and soon secured the adoption of a uni-
form course of study, free text-books, raised
the standard of teaching and gave to the schools
and the teachers an enthusiastic interest in the
work. He held the position three terms and de-
clined a fourth nomination to engage in the
publication of the South Dakota Educator, the
official organ of all the state educational bodies.
He still is the publisher of this journal, as well
as of the South Dakotan, the organ of the State
Historical Society, and the School Board Journal.
By his energy and industry he has built up a
large and profitable printing establishment and
publishing house. From 1890 to 1896 he was a
member of the board of trustes of the Madison
Normal and for a portion of the time president
of the board. From 1898 to 1902 he was a
member of the state legislature. He has from the
beginning been an active member of the State
Educational Association and of the Teachers'
and Pupils' Reading Circles and much of the
time one of the administrative officers of these
bodies. Since 1892 he has been postmaster of
Mitchell and is also the treasurer of the Com-
mercial Fire Insurance Company.
On September 2. 1885, Mr. Bras was mar-
ried to Miss Hattie Betts, of Mount Vernon,
and to them iotir daughters have been bom,
Elsie Louise, Lillian, Florence and Sarah. Mrs.
Bras died in December. 1903. In the prime of
his manhood, Mr. Bras, with state-wide acquaint-
ance and unstinted popularity, is still but at the
beginning of that career of usefulness and honor
which his unflagging industry, integrity and
ability give assurance that the community will
require at his hands.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
HOWARD BABCOCK, attorney-at-law, and
for a number of years a leading member of the
Sisseton bar, and the present mayor of Sisseton,
was born in Waterloo, Wisconsin. December 21,
1867, being the son of Seth C. and Sarah C.
(Cole) Babcock, both natives of New York.
Seth C. Babcock, a farmer by occupation, was
descended from old colonial stock, his family hav-
ing been among the earliest settlers of York
state, and not a few of the name participating in
the struggle for independence. He was a vet-
eran of the late Civil war, serving in Company
H, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Infantry, and made
an honorable record as a brave and gallant sol-
dier. The Coles also belong to an old family.
the early history of which dates from a remote
period in the time of the colonies, and the name
is still familiar in New York, where they orig-
inally located. Seth and Sarah Babcock were
the parents of four children who grew to ma-
turity, three sons and one daughter, all living.
Howard Babcock remained in his native town
until about eight years of age and in 1875 ^^'
moved with his parents to Racine, Mower county,
Minnesota, where he worked on a farm and at-
tended the public schools and the Spring Valley
high school until his eighteenth year. After
teaching two terms of school, he spent the en-
suing three years in the Cedar Valley Seminary
at Osage, Iowa, and at the expiration of that
time began the study of law with Judge C. C.
Willson. of Rochester, Minnesota, under whose
instruction he continued until his admission to
the bar in 1892. Mr. Babcock began the prac-
tice of his profession at Wilmot, South Dakota,
in 1892, and two years later was elected state's
attorney, which position he held the constitutional
term of four years, proving an able, faithful and
untiring official. Retiring from office, he resumed
the general practice and when the county seat was
moved to Sisseton he changed his residence to
that place, and has built up a large and lucra-
tive practice in the courts of Roberts and neigh-
boring counties. Mr. Babcock is one of the lead-
ing lawyers of the Sisseton bar, stands high in
the esteem of his professional associates and the
public, and has earned an enviable reputation in
his chosen calling. His success has been as
pronounced financially as professionally and he
is today one of the well-to-do men of his city
and county, owning valuable real estate, besides
his interests in the First National Bank and Res-
ervation State Bank, of Sisseton, the First State
Bank of Summit and the Citizens' Bank at White
Rock. He helped to organize these institutions
and has been a member of the directorate of each
bank ever since, and at this time he is president
of the First State Bank of Summit. He also or-
ganized the Sisseton Loan and Title Company
and is heavily interested in the Roberts County
Land and Loan Company, being president of
both institutions. Mr. Babcock owns one of the
finest residence properties in Sisseton and a half
section in Roberts county, which is under a high
state of cultivation and well improved • in the
way of buildings, fences, etc. He is essentially
a self-made man, his professional success and
financial prosperity being the result of his own
untiring efforts and industry, and it is eminently
fitting to claim for him a prominent place among
the representative citizens of his adopted state.
Mr. Babcock is a member of the Masonic frater-
nity and at the present time holds the office of
junior warden in Sisseton Lodge. No. 31 : he is
also identified with the Pythian brotherhood, be-
longing to Reservation Lodge, No. 66.
Mr. Babcock, on January 22, 1895, contracted
a matrimonial alliance with Miss Ella Jones, of
Mitchell, Iowa, and their union has been blessed
by three children, Dana B.. Gordon C. and Carroll
H., who are sturdy examples of the boys they
raise in South Dakota.
TR.\ C. HILL, coimty treasurer of Roberts
county and a gentleman of high standing in the
business and social circles of Sisseton. is a na-
tive of New York, born in the citv of EIniira.
on March 9. 1848. His father, Felix Hill, was
also a New Yorker bv birth, being descended
from one of the old families of that common-
wealth, and his mother, who bore the maiden
name of Julia Hoover, came of old New Eng-
land stock, her father having served with dis-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1 173
tinction in the war of 1S12. Felix and Julia
Hill were the parents of eight children, five sons
and three daughters, all living, the majority well
settled in life and greatly esteemed in their re-
spective places of residence.
Ira C. Hill spent the first eight years of his
life in the state of his birth and in 1856 accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Wiscon-
sin, where he lived until 1863. He was reared
on a farm, with the rugged duties and whole-
some discipline of which he early became famil-
iar, and when old enough he entered the district
schools which he attended of winter seasons
until a youth in his teens. In 1863 he went
with the family to Minnesota, where a little later
lie tendered his services to the government to
help put down the rebellion, enlisting in Com-
pany D. Ninth Minnesota Infantry, with which
he shared the fortunes and vicissitudes of war
for a period of eighteen months, the meanwhile
taking part in -several campaigns and in a num-
ber of hard-fought battles. At the expiration
of his period of service he returned to Minne-
sota, where he folIoAved agricultural pursuits
until 1892, when he disposed of his interests in
that state and came -to Roberts county. South
Dakota, where he purchased land and engaged
in farming. Later, 1897, he moved to Sisseton.
and started a hardware store, to which line of
business he devoted his attention until 1900, when
he was elected treasurer of Roberts county, which
position he still holds, having been re-elected in
1902. Mr. Hill's career has been eminently sat-
isfactory and it is universally conceded that the
countv has never been served b}- aniore capable
or obliging official. He has handled the public
funds judiciously, and as a custodian of one of
the people's most important trusts has so de-
ported himself as to gain the confidence of his
fellow citizens of all parties and shades of polit-
ical opinion. He has also served two terms as
county commissioner and during his incumbency
in that office was untiring in his efforts to promote
public improvements, but at all times careful and
even conservative in the matter of expenditures.
Mr. Hill is still engaged in agriculture on an
extensive scale, owning a finely improved farm
of four hundred acres in the northern part of
Roberts county, all under cultivation, in addition
to which he has various other interests, being a
heavy stockholder in the First National Bank of
Sisseton and in the Citizens' State Bank at White
Rock. He has been quite successful in all of
his enterprises and is now regarded as one of the
financially strong and reliable men of his city and
county. He is a member of Sisseton Lodge, No.
31. Free and Accepted Masons, and his name is
also found on the records of Reservation Lodge,
No. 66, Knights of Pythias, being a zealous
worker in both orders, besides at all times exem-
plifying their principles and precepts in his rela-
tions with his fellow men.
Mr. Hill was married in Minnesota, May
2-], 1878, to Miss Jennie Rhodes, daughter of
Elica Rhodes, of New York, the union resulting
in the birth of a daughter. Susie J., at home, and
Felix, who is married and lives on the home
farm.
JOHN HOLMAN, of the law firm of Gam-
ble, Tripp & Holman, and distinctively one of
the leading attorneys of the Yankton bar, is a
native of Wisconsin and the son of Sjur and
Ragrilda Holman, both parents born in Norway.
Sjur Holman came to the L^nited States in 1849,
and settled near Deerfield, Wisconsin, where he
shortly afterward married Ragrilda Aase, who
was brought to this country by her parents in
1845, when about thirteen years of age. After
his marriage, Mr. Holman turned his attention
to agricultural pursuits and, though beginning
in a modest way with but limited capital, he suc-
ceeded by good management and consecutive in-
dustry in accumulating a handsome compet^ce,
so that he is now enabled to spend the closing
years of his life in comfortable and honorable
retirement in the town of Deerfield. Of the chil-
dren born to this estimable couple, eight are
living at the ])resent time, namely: Mrs. Martha
Sterricker, of Omaha, Nebraska : Andrew, who
lives in Copper Center, Alaska, of which place
he was the first settler and founder : Nel, a grad-
uate of the law department of Wisconsin Uni-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
versity, but now publishing a paper in Deerfield,
that state ; Lewis, who is stationed at the Oknago
Indian Mission in British Columbia; John, of
tliis review ; Gerina, at home ; Edwin, editor and
proprietor of a newspaper in Minnesota, and
Ella, who is still with her parents.
John Holman was born February lo, 1867,
in the town of Deerfield, Wisconsin, and grew
up at home, attending for some years the com-
mon schools and later talcing a full course in the
seminary at Red Wing, Minnesota, from which
institution he was graduated in the spring of
1887. In the following fall he entered the law
department of the University of Wisconsin, and
after prosecuting his legal studies for the greater
part of two years, was graduated with the class
of 1889, immediately after which he accepted a
clerkship in the office of one of the leading at-
torneys of Madison. Young Holman spent
about one and a half years in clerical work at the
nominal salary of fifteen dollars per month and
board, but becoming restive under such manner
of living he resigned his position at the expiration
of the time noted, and in January, 1891, came to
Yankton, South Dakota, where, with something
like fifty dollars saved from his meager earnings
and about two hundred and forty dollars of bor-
rowed capital, he opened an office and entered
upon his career as a lawyer. His first year in this
cit}- was one of struggle and self-denial, clients
being few and expenses by no means light. By
husbanding his resources, however, he managed
to acquire sufficient business to keep his bark
afloat until the fall of the following year, at
which time he was induced by his Republican
friends to announce himself a candidate for the
office of state's attorney. Arrayed against the
candidate for the Republican ticket in that cam-
])aign were the combined forces of Democracy
and Populism, a fusion which its members confi-
dently believed would sweep the country and cap-
ture every office, state, district and county. Not-
withstanding the strong opposition, Mr. Holman
accepted the nomination and, entering upon the
campaign with the determination of doing his
best, made a thorough, systematic and brilliant
canvass, the result of which was his election by
a very handsome majority over a popular com-
petitor. During his first term as prosecutor he
formed a law partnership with L. L. F. Cleeger,
and opened a branch office at Centerville, Mr.
Qeeger looking after the business at the latter
place, the subject taking charge of the office in
Yankton. At the expiration of his term Mr.
Holman was chosen his own successor and at the
same time his associate was elected state's attor-
ney of Turner county, in consequence of which
their partnership was dissolved, the subject
shortly thereafter becoming a member of the law
firm of Cramer & Holman, which continued for
a period of two years.
After practicing alone for one year, Mr. Hol-
man entered into a partnership with Robert E.
McDowell, present private secretary of Senator
Gamble, which lasted until the formation of the
present legal firm of Gamble, Tripp & Holman
in the year 1901. Actuated by a spirit of intense
patriotism, Mr. Holman, in May, 1898, sacrificed
his law practice, which in the meantime had be-
come large, far-reaching and lucrative, to enter
the service of his country in its war with Spain.
Enlisting in Company C, First South Dakota
Volunteer Infantry, he was soon on his way to
the Philippines, where he experienced the vicis-
situdes and hardships peculiar to warfare with a
barbarous foe in a hot and trying climate. Soon
after joining the army he was made corporal,
subsequently was promoted quartermaster ser-
geant and still later rose to the rank of lieutenant,
which position he held until his discharge, in Oc-
tober, 1899. Returning home, he assumed his
law practice, which soon regained its former
magnitude, and from tliat time to the present he
has devoted his attention closely to his profession,
with the result that he today commands an ex-
tensive business and occupies a conspicuous place
among the leading members of the Yankton bar.
In the spring of 1900 Mr. Holman was elected
niayor of Yankton, and the ensuing fall he was
further honored by a third election to the office
of state's attorney, in which position he is now
serving his fourth term, having been re-elected
in the fall of 1902. Mr. Holman's frequent elec-
tion to important official station demonstrates not
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
only superior professional ability, but a trust-
worthiness and popularity with members of all
political parties such as few attain.
In December, 1900, Mr. Holman was married,
in Yankton, to Miss Alice Flanagan, of this city,
the union being blessed with two children, a
daughter by the name of Susan R. and a son
named Bartlett. Mr. Holman is a member of the
Masonic order, in which he has risen to a high
degree, and he is also identified with the Knights
of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He was reared a Lutheran and,
though still adhering to that faith, he has at-
tended of recent years the Episcopal church of
Yankton, to which his wife belongs. He con-
tributes liberally to the support of both these re-
ligions, is also alive to all kinds of charitable and
benevolent work, and assists to the extent of his
ability any laudable enterprise having for its ob-
ject the social advancement of the community
or the moral good of his fellow men.
HARRY L. SPACKMAN, president of the
Reservation State Bank, Sisseton, and manager
of the Roberts County Land and Loan Company,
was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, May 3,
1866, the son of Jonathan W. Spackman, a na-
tive of Pennsylvania and by occupation a con-
tractor and builder. Harry L., who is one of six
children, three sons and three daughters, was
reared to his seventeenth year in the town of
Dakota, Illinois, the m.eantime_ acquiring a good
education in the public schools. Fie came to this
state in 1883, and from the latter year until t888
he lived in St. Lawrence, Hand county, devoting
the greater part of the time to agricultural pur-
suits, and then went to Sioux Falls, where he
clerked in a store until his removal to Sisseton
m 1892. Mr. Spackman was one of the propri-
etors of Sisseton, and to him also belongs the
credit of being the pioneer merchant of the town.
He opened a general store shortly after his arri-
val and conducted a very profitable business until
1896, when he disposed of his mercantile inter-
ests and engaged in banking and real estate. He
was one of the organizers of the Reservation
.State Bank of Sisseton, and has since been presi-
dent of the same, and also took a leading part in
establishing the Sisseton State Bank, of which
he is still an official and heavy stockholder. In
addition to this enterprise he is connected with
the Roberts County Land and Loan Company,
being its business manager, and to his energies
and executive ability is due much of the success
which has marked the history of the company
from its organization to the present time. As
already indicated, Mr. Spackman was one of the
founders of Sisseton and to him as much as to
any other individual may be attributed the rapid
growth of the town and its favorable prospects
of becoming at no distant day one of the most
important commercial and industrial centers in
the northeastern part of the state.
Mr. Spackman is a Republican in politics,
and a faithful worker for the success of his
party. He was chairman of the Republican
county committee four years and served six
years as county commissioner, to which office
he was elected by an overwhelming vote irre-
spective of party. He is a clear-headed, far-
sighted man, knows how to take advantage of
opportunities and bend them to suit his purposes,
and all of his undertakings have resulted greatly
to his financial advantages.
Mr. Spackman holds membership with Sisse-
ton Lodge, No. 38, Ancient Order of United
Workmen, Reservation Lodge, No. 66, Knights
of Pythias, and is also a zealous worker in the
Odd Fellows order, besides lending his influence
to other organized agencies for the promotion of
benevolence, charity and fraternal relationships.
Public-spirited, he hesitates at no difficulty and,
optimistic in all the term implies, he has an abid-
ing faith in himself and in his fellow citizens to
make South Dakota one of the greatest common-
wealths in the galaxy of states.
Mr. Spackman was married, April 10, 1889,
to Miss Dora Wampler, or Elsvvorth, Illinois,
daughter of A. J. Wampler, who is now an hon-
ored resident of Sisseton. To Mr. and Mrs.
Spackman have been born three children, namely:
Vera A., Hazel M. and Harrold B.
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
WILLIAM H. TURKOPP, M. D., is a na-
tive of the old Buckeye state, having been born
in Columbus, Ohio, on the I2th of April, 1857,
and being a son of Henry and Sophia (Thalke)
Turkopp. Three other of their children are liv-
ing, namely : Henry, who still resides in Colum-
bus, as are also Christian and Alwine. die latter
of whom is a teacher in the high school of Ohio's
capital city. The father of the Doctor was born
in Germany, about the year 1828, and came to the
LTnited States when he was a lad of about six-
teen years of age, locating in Columbus, where
he has ever since maintained his home, having
eventually engaged in the commission business
and having acquired a fortune through his well-
directed efforts. His wife was born in Wiscon-
sin and died in 1895.
Dr. Turkopp was reared to maturity in his
native city, where he received his preliminary
educational discipline in the public schools. 'In
1876 he began the work of preparing himself for
his chosen vocation, taking up the study of medi-
cine and finally entering the Starling Medical
College, now the medical department of the Ohio
State L^'niversity, in his home city, where he was
graduated in the spring of 1879, receiving the
degree of Doctor of Medicine. Prior to enter-
ing the medical college he bad passed three years
in Europe, where he pursued a special course in
chemistry, as a preliminary to taking up the
other essential branches of the medical and sur-
gical science. After his graduation he again
went to Europe, where he took post-graduate
medical study in the universities at Berlin, Leip-
sic, Munich and Vienna, being absent three years
and thoroughly fortifying himself for the work
of his chosen profession. He then returned to
the LTnited States and soon afterward took up
his residence in Yankton, where he has since
been engaged in the practice of his profession,
and where he has attained a high reputation as
one of the skilled and successful members of his
profession in the state, securing a supporting
patronage of representative order. So insistent
have become the demands upon his time and at-
tention that he has of late confined himself to an
office practice, and he is frequently called in con-
sultation on cases of critical character, his judg-
ment in- matters of diagnosis, treatment and sur-
gical exigencies being held in high regard by
his confreres, while such is his strict observance
of professional ethics that he has the esteem
and good will of all.
The Doctor is independent in his political
views, having originally been aligned with the
Democratic party, but his convictions in regard
to matters of public polity led him to support
McKinley on each occasion of his candidacy for
the presidency. He served one year as coroner
of Yanlrton, having been elected on the Demo-
cratic ticket and having the distinction of being
the only candidate of that party to attain vic-
tory at the polls on that occasion. He is a man
of scholarly attainments, is genial and sincere
in his intercourse with his fellow men and. is
held in unequivocal esteem.
In the year 1882 Dr. Turkopp was united
in marriage to Miss Anna Peiffer, of Lakeport,
this state, and they are the parents of five chil-
dren, namely: William, Nora, Sophia, IMinnie
and John, all of whom are acquiring their educa-
tion in Columbus, Ohio, their father's native citv.
A. W. LINDOUIST.— As the name indi-
cates, the subject of this sketch is of foreign
blood, although a native of the United States,
having been born near Alma, Wisconsin, on the
4th day of September, 1869. John and Chris-
tina (Westling) Lindquist, his parents, both na-
tives of Sweden, came to America in 1850 and set-
tled in Wabasha county, Minnesota. Later he
moved to Alma, Wisconsin, and from there to
Ortonville, Minnesota, in 1877, where the father
engaged in farming. He died December 24.
1902, at the age of seventy-two years, the mother
being still a resident of Ortonville. John and
Christina Lindquist reared a family of six chil-
dren, five living, the subject of this review being
the oldest of the number. A. W. spent his early
years on the homestead near Ortonville. and re-
ceived his education in the public schools of that
place, after which he accepted a clerkship in a
mercantile house, holding the same for a period
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
of eight years. Resigning his position at Orton-
ville in 1891, Mr. Lindquist came to Roberts
county, South Dakota, and in February of the
same year estabhshed himself in the mercantile
business at Wilmot, which line of trade he has
since conducted, the meanwhile greatly enlarg-
mg his stock by adding a general assortment of
goods, including all kinds of agricultural imple-
ments and farm machinery, and meeting with
most gratifying success in his undertaking. His
patronage, which includes a wide range, is cpiite
lucrative, and in his well-stocked establishment
is found every article of merchandise demanded
by the general trade. As a business man he is
familiar with the underlying principles of com-
mercial life, being a careful buyer, an accom-
plished salesman and progressive in the manage-
ment of his affairs, yet sufficiently conservative
as to make few errors of judgment, steering clear
of unwise speculations and being satisfied with
the sure gains that come from legitimate trad-
ing.
In addition to his commercial interests, Mr.
Lindquist is a large real-estate holder, owning
and personally managing the farms in Roberts
county, besides holding a half interest in the
old family homestead in Big Stone county, Min-
nesota. He belongs to the public-spirited class
nf men that have done much to promote the ma-
terial advancement of Wilmot and Roberts
counties, and he has also achieved considerable
reputation as a shrewd, resourceful and far-see-
ing politician, having torne quite a prominent
])art in bringing about the re-election of Hon.
J. H. Kyle to the United States senate. His in-
fluence in municipal, county and state politics
has given him considerable prestige among the
leaders of his party, not only in the county and
district in which he resides but throughout the
state as well. Mr. Lindquist is a thirty-second-
degree Scottish-rite Mason, belonging to the
blue lodge at Wilmot, the consistory at Aber-
deen and the Mystic Shrine at Minneapolis,
Minnesota. He is a zealous member of this an-
cient and honorable brotherhood, is well versed
in its mystic work and his sterling manhood
proves that its principles and precepts had not a
little to do in guiding and controlling his daily
life and conduct.
Mr. Lindquist was married on May 31, 1893,
to Miss Edna Knappen, of Minneapolis, and
IS the father of two children, Muriel and Phvllis.
HOSMER H. KEITH was born at North
Brookfield, Madison county, New York, July 12,
1846, his father having been a farmer and of
Scotch ancestry. Besides receiving instruction
in the common schools, Mr. Keith was gradu-
ated at Whitestown Seminary and afterwards re-
ceived the honorary degree of Master of Arts
from Colgate University at Hamilton, New
York. During his young manhood he not only
worked on the farm, but, like many other ener-
getic young men of his time, he also engaged in
school teaching. He studied law for two years,
and then entered the Law School at Albany,
New York, graduating in 1870. He was admit-
ted to the bar at a general term of the supreme
court in New York in June, 1870, and has since
then, first in New York and subsequently in
South Dakota, been in the active practice of his
profession. He came to Sioux Falls in the spring
of 18S3. At the election of officers for the pro-
posed state of South Dakota, under the Sioux
Falls constitution, he was elected judge of the
circuit court of the second district. At
the election in the fall of 1888 he was
elected a member of the territorial ' legis-
lature from the counties of Hanson, McCook and
Minnehaha, receiving a majority of four hun-
dred and ninety-eight votes over his competitor,
J. T. Gilbert, who had been elected to the pre-
vious term by a majority of one hundred and six-
ty-five votes. Mr. Keith was elected speaker of
the house of representatives and filled the posi-
tion with marked ability. He took a prominent
part in the division of the territory and the ad-
mission of the southern ,half as a state. He
stands high as a public speaker and is always lis-
tened to with marked attention. As a lawyer
he ranks among the best in the state. When
he is employed in a case, his opponents know
there is to be a contest from the beginning to the
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
end. He is a sagacious trier of cases, a good
advocate and when summoned to a court of last
resort he is well equipped and able to make tlie
best presentation of his case. As a citizen he is
independent and enterprising and takes an active
part in all public matters. For several years he
was president of the Commercial Club and Busi-
ness Men's League of his city.
Afr. Keith is a prominent member of the
Baptist church, and is also well known in fra-
ternal circles, belonging to Masonic blue lodge
No. 5, the Scottish Rite consistory, the Mystic
Shrine and the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, all at Sioux Falls. In politics he has al-
ways actively supported the Republican party.
He was elected city attorney of Sioux Falls in
1 901 and has since been retained in that office.
On the 9th of August, 1870, he was united
in marriage to Mary Katherine Spear, the daugh-
ter of Philitus B. Spear, D. D., of Hamilton, New
York, and to them have been born three children,
namely ; Flora Belle, who was graduated from
a ladies' seminary at Hamilton, New York ; Ed-
win Spear, who graduated from Pillsbury Acad-
emy, Owatonna, Minnesota, and took two years
in Chicago University, is now a successful mer-
chant in Bremerton, Washington ; Albert Jack-
son, who was graduated from Sioux Falls College
and the law department of the University of
Minnesota, is now practicing law with his father
at Sioux Falls.
EDWARD MOSCRIP, son of Thomas and
.Sally (Reynolds) Moscrip, was born in Dela-
ware county. New York, October 14, 1838. His
early years were spent in his native state, where
he grew to manhood on a farm, and in the sub-
scription schools of Delaware county he received
a fair education, his principal training, however,
being of an intensely practical nature, obtained
by coming in contact with the world in various
capacities. Mr. Moscrip followed agricultural
pursuits in New York until the year 1857, when
he went to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and engaged
in lumbering, continuing that line of business
tmtil 1S61. In the spring of the latter year he
responded to President Lincoln's call for volun-
teers by enlisting in Company E, Second Wis-
consin Infantry, which was part of the celebrated
Iron Brigade, the only brigade of western troops
in the Army of the Potomac, being the First
Brigade of the First Division, First Army Corps,
Army of the Potomac, with which he shared all
the realities of war in several of the southern
campaigns, taking part in some of the bloodiest
battles of the Rebellion, among which were the
first Bull Run, Gainesville, second Bull Run,
Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Get-
tysburg, the Wilderness and many others, in all
of which his conduct was that of a brave and
heroic soldier who never hesitated when duty
called and whose record is one of which any
veteran might well feel proud. On May 10,
1864, in the battle of Spottsylvania Court House,
he was shot in the hip, the injury being such as
to render him almost helpless for a year, during
which time he received hospital attention at
various places, remaining for some time at the
Soldiers' Home in the city of New York. Mr.
Moscrip was discharged at Providence, Rhode
Island, in April, 1865, and immediately there-
after returned to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where in
the spring of the following year he resumed lum-
bering in the pineries of that state. He was quite
fortunate in this business and followed it about
seven years, during which time he realized con-
siderable wealth and laid the foundation of his
subsequent success as a farmer and stock raiser.
In the month of March, 1868, Mr. Moscrip was
united in marriage to Miss Margaret Gilmore,
of Illinois, and four years later, with his wife and
two children, drove from Wisconsin to Lincoln
county. South Dakota, and purchased a quarter
section of land in La Valley township, which he
improved and which he made his home during
the ensuing five years. Disposing of his place at
the end of that time, he bought the southwest
quarter of section 2, La Valley township, which he
still owns, converting his land the meanwhile into
j a finely cultivated and splendidly improved farm,
1 his dwelling and barn, erected in 1900, being
among the best buildings of the kind in the com-
i munity. As a farmer Mr. Aloscrip ranks with
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
179
the most enterprising and successful of Lincoln
county agriculturists, and he also has an enviable
reputation as a raiser of live stock, his horses,
cattle and hogs being carefully selected from the
most approved breeds and he seldom fails to
realize every year handsome profits from the sale
of these animals. Not only as an up-to-date
farmer and stock man is Mr. Moscrip known,
but he has long been before the people as a leader
in various public enterjirises, among which may
be noted the locating and laying out of high-
ways, the building up of the local school system,
also his activity and usefulness as chairman of
the town Ijoard. He is a Republican in politics,
and in 1890 represented Lincoln county in the
lower house of the legislature, a position un-
sought on his part, but filled with credit to him-
self and to his constituents. Mr. Moscrip be-
longs to several secret fraternities and benevolent
societies, among which are the Masonic lodge at
Sioux Falls, the L'''nion Veterans' LTnion at the
same place, and the Grand Army post, which
holds its sessions in Canton. The family of Mr.
and Mrs. Moscrip consists of one son and two
daughters, whose names in order of birth are ,
Annie. Elva and William G. The oldest daugh- j
ter married Joseph Shebal, a farmer and stock
raiser of LaValley township; Annie is the wife 1
of Charles Davey and lives on a farm in Wis- 1
consin, and William G., who married Miss Eva ,
Messner. is a resident of LaValley township and
a prosperous tiller of the soil.
A. JAMES GH-^FORD. M. D., one of the
popular and able young physicians and surgeons
of the state, living in the attractive little city of
Alexandria, Hanson county, was born in Carroll
count}', Iowa, on the 26th of July, 1871, being a
son of A. J. and S. M. Gififord, the former of
whom was born in the state of Pennsylvania
and the latter in England, the father being a
farmer by vocation. The subject secured his
early educational training in the public schools
of his native county, and in April, 1882, removed
to Miller. South Dakota, where he remained until
1807, when he was matriculated in the medical
department of the Iowa State LTniversity, at Iowa
City, where he completed the prescribed course
and was graduated as a member of the class of
igoi, when the degree of Doctor of Medicine was
duly conferred upon him. He came forth well
fortified for the work of his chosen profession,
and soon after his graduation came to Alexan-
dria, where he entered into partnership with
Dr. Maytum, concerning whom individual men-
tion is made on another page of this work, and
they were coadjutors in their professional work
under the firm name of Maytum & GifTord, until
the dissolution of the partnership, February i,
1904. Dr. Clifford is most appreciative of the
responsibility and the exacting duties of his pro-
fession and is devoted to its work, in which he
has been most successful. He is a member of the
South Dakota State Medical Society and takes
a deep interest in its work and deliberations, and
fraternally he is affiliated with the Ancient Order
of United Workmen and the Knights of the
Maccabees.
On the 20th of May, 1897, was solemnized
the marriage of Dr. Gifford to Miss Edith
Coka^iie, a daughter of Charles Cokayne, of St.
Lawrence, this state, and of this union has been
born one child, a winsome little daughter, Mar-
jorie.
JOHN E. UHRICH is a native of Alsace,
Germany, but since the year 1868 has been a.n
honored resident of South Dakota, consequently
he can legitimately claim to be one of the old
settlers of the state. Christian Uhrich, the sub-
ject's father, was a well-known teacher in Alsace
and in addition to educational work, in which he
spent twenty-four consecutive years, he was also
employed for a considerable time in the office of
the treasurer of state. He married in his native
land Louisa Zabe, and in 1866 came to America,
settling in Genesee county. New York, thence
two years later moved to Hutchinson county,
South I>akota, where he took up land on which
he spent the remainder of his days in retirement,
dying in the year 1886, his companion depart-
ing this life in 1895. To Christian and Louisa
i8o
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Uhrich were born eight children, seven of whom
are Hving, namely : Joseph, a farmer residing
in Hutchinson county. South Dakota : John B.,
of this review; Reichart, of Yankton, this. state:
Aladelinc, Qiristine and Christian, also living
in that city, and Victor, whose home is in Hutch-
inson county. Paul, the only member of the fam-
ily deceased, was the seventh in order of birth.
John P.. Uhrich spent his early life in his
native country and grew up pretty much after
the manner of the majority of lads in the father-
land. In 1865 he came to the United States and
after spending the ensuing two years in Genesee
county. New York, came to South Dakota and,
in partnership with his brother Joseph, engaged
in the draying business at Yankton. Two years
later he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza-
beth Rapsch, a native of Bohemia, and shortly
thereafter moved to Hutchinson countv and en-
tered a quarter section of land in township 99,
range 59, in which he now lives and which under
his labors and efficient management has been
brought to a high state of cultivation and other-
wise improved. ^Tr. Uhrich increased his real
estate from time to time until his farm now con-
tains five hundred acres of excellent land, in ad-
dition to which he recently gave two hundred
acres to his son. He has about two hundred
acres in cultivation and, in connection with gen-
eral farming, devotes a great deal of attention to
cattle, horses and hogs, having met with most
encouraging success both as an agriculturist and
a breeder and raiser of fine live stock. It is not
too much to claim for Mr. Uhrich distinctive
prestige as an enterprising farmer and public-
spirited man of affairs. He is a friend of edu-
cation and for a period of eighteen years was a
member of the local school board, in addition to
which he has also given his influence and support
to all measures having for their object the moral
and social, as well as the intellectual advance-
ment of the community.
Politically Mr. Uhrich is a Republican, but
he has steadily avoided position in partisan af-
fairs and refrained from seeking the honors or
emoluments of office. He and his estimable wife
have a large circle of friends and acquaintances
and their pleasant home is the abode of an open-
hearted hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Uhrich have
a family of four children, the oldest of whom,
Mctor A., married Tillie Harnisch and lives on
the home farm ; Rehard, the third in order of
birth, is the wife of Charles Peshak, of Spokane,
Washington, a tinner by trade ; Joseph married
Mary Stoberal and lives at Petersburg. \'ir-
ginia, and Louisa, the youngest of the number,
IS still with her parents.
ROBERT S. PERSON is one of the hon-
ored citizens of the state, of which he has been
a resident since 1884. He has been identified
with public, educational and civic affairs, and at
the present time occupies the responsible position
of auditor of the United States treasury for the
interior department. He is a resident of Howard,
Miner county.
Mr. Person was born in Sheldon, Wyoming
county. New York, on the 14th of May, 1857.
and is a son of Solomon H. (1820-1861) and
Mary (Hamilton) Person (1825-1881), the for-
mer of English and the latter of Scotch lineage,
while both families became established in Amer-
ica in the colonial epoch. The father of the sub-
ject was a farmer by vocation, and both he and
his wife died in the state of New York. Robert
S. Person received his rudimentary discipline in
the district schools of his native county, and later
continued his studies in turn in the East Au-
rora Academy and Chesbrough Seminary, in the
Empire state, and in Beloit College, Wisconsin ;
he is also a graduate in law, having taken the de-
gree of Bachelor of Laws at Columbian I'niver-
sity, in the city of Washington.
Mr. Person's father died when the son was but
four years old. At the age of fourteen year.s
Robert severed home ties and after that he was
thrown largely upon his own resource's and be-
came the architect of his own fortunes. For the
next six years such education as he acquired
was with the proceeds of his own earnings,
either as a hired farm hand in summer or as a
teacher of country schools in winter. For pev-
eral vears he was successfullv engaged in teach-
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
ing, liaving been thus employed in New York,
Wisconsin and Dakota territory. In 1884 he or-
ganized the first public schools in Woonsocket,
Sanborn county, in the then territory of Dakota,
and was the principal of the high school at that
place for two years. He was also a member of
the board of trustees of the State Normal School
at Madison for several years.
While he was a student at Beloit College, Mr.
Person earned his way by tutoring and by repor-
torial work for the local press. The latter
opened a new and congenial vocation, which af-
forded him pleasure as well as a source of needed
revenue. In 1886 he engaged in newspaper work
at Woonsocket, and in 1888 he again located at
Howard, Miner county, where he was editor and
publisher of the Howard Press until September,
1807, when he disposed of the plant and business
to enter upon official duties at Washington, D. C,
in connection with the federal government. From
1895 to 1897, inclusive, Mr. Person held the po-
sition of secretary of the state senate, and from
1896 to 1898 he was secretary of the Republican
state central committee. He has rendered effi-
cient service in the promotion of the interests
of the party in South Dakota, and has been an in-
fluential factor in the party ranks ever since tak-
ing up his residence in the state. In June, 1897,
President McKinley appointed him deputy audi-
tor of the United States treasury for the depart-
ment of the interior, and after having filled that
office for a term of four years the late lamented
President appointed him auditor for the same de-
partment. This appointment was made in May,
1901, and in December of the same year Presi-
dent Roosevelt renewed the appointment, and
Mr. Person is still incumbent of the office, in
the administration of which it is acknowledged
he has demonstrated exceptional efficiency as a
public officer. His duties involve great respon-
sibilities, as about two hundred million dollars of
public funds annually are advanced through him
to agents, whose disbursements in turn must be
accounted for to him.
Among the cherished memories of Mr. Per-
son's associations with public men is the fact
that for seven years he enjoyed the personal
friendship of the late Jilarcus A. Hanna, United
States senator from the state of Ohio and chair-
man of the Republican national committee.
Mr. Person is a man of public spirit and
progressive ideas, and has ever shown a lively
interest in all that makes for the advancement
and material prosperity of South Dakota, of
which he may consistently be termed a pioneer.
In politics he is a Republican. His family are
comnuuiicants of the Protestant Episcopal
church.
On the 7th of August, 1884, Mr. Person was
united in marriage to Miss Ellen A. Persons,
who was born in Forbeston, Butte county. Cali-
fornia, on the 23d of February, 1857, being a
daughter of Dr. Horace T. and Jane (Fenton)
Persons. ^Ir. and Mrs. Person have had six-
children, of whom four are living, namelv : El-
len Bertha, who was born in 1885 : Ethel Marion,
who was born in 1892 : Horace Hamilton, who
was born in 1893, and Mary Katharine, who was
born in 1897. Helen Hamilton, who was born on
the fith of June, 1888, died on the 23d of Febru-
ary, 1889, and Robert S., Jr.. who was born De-
cember 17, 1889, died March 29th, 1S96.
PHILIP PFATLZGRAFF.— The name of
the subject of this review indicates his foreign
birth, also the part of the old world from which
he came. Philip Pfatlzgraff was born November
28, 1852, in Alsace Loraine, at that time under
the dominion of France, but now a part of the
German empiie, being the son of Frederick and
Magdalena (Schnaberger) Pfatlzgraff, both par-
ents natives of the same province. Bv occupa-
tion the father was a farmer, which trade he fol-
lowed the greater part of his life, both in Ger-
many and the United States. When a young man
he entered the French army and devoted sixteen
years to the military service, spending a part of
the time as a member of the band, having been
an accomplished musician, especially on his fa-
vorite 'instrument, the clarionet. Leaving the
army, he resumed his trade and continued to
work at the same in his native land until 1854.
when he came to the United States and located in
Il82
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
Rochester, New York. After spending two
vears at nursery work in that city, he removed
to Cook county, IlHnois, where he purchased land
and devoted the ensuing fifteen years to agricul-
tural pursuits, changing his abode at the expira-
tion of that time to Butler county, Iowa, where
he also developed a farm and continued to live
the life of a contented and prosperous tiller of
the soil for a period of eighteen years, dying in
tlie town of Dumont on the 6th day of March,
1898. Mrs. PfatlzgrafT, who is still living at Du-
mont, Iowa, bore her husband seven children, the
subject of this sketch being the oldest of the
number. The others are George, a farmer of
Butler county, Iowa ; Fred, a hardware merchant
in the town of Dumont; Jacob, who is engaged
with his brother in the hardware business ; Mrs.
Elizabeth Schmitz, of Dumont ; Lena, whose
husband, Ernest Schmitz. is a general merchant
in the above town, and Qiarlotte. who married
William Ahrens. a grain dealer of the same
place.
Philip Pfatlzgraff was but two years old
when his parents came to this country, conse-
quently he has no recollection of the land of his
birth, being to all intents and purposes as much
a citizen of the United States as if he had been
born on American soil. During his youthful
years he attended the district schools of Butler
county and having been reared to agricultural
pursuits he early became familiar with the rug-
ged duties of the farm and grew up strong of
body and with a well-defined purpose to make
the most of his opportunities. Being the oldest
of the family much of the labor of the homestead
fell to him and he discharged the duty faithfully
and well, working early and late in the fields
and taking from his father's shoulders a great
deal of the work and responsibility of running
the farm. After remaining with his parents and
looking after their interests until twenty-five
years of age, he left home to make his own way
in the world and in February, 1877, came to
Bon Plomme county. South Dakota, locating at
the town of Loretta, where in due time he en-
gaged in general merchandising.
Air. Pfatlzgrafif's business proved prosperous
from the beginning and at this time he is pro-
prietor of one of the largest and most successful
mercantile establishments in the town, carrying
a full stock of all articles demanded by the gen-
eral trade, in addition to which he also handles
all kinds of produce, which he ships in large
quantities to the leading markets of the country.
He has an extensive patronage, which is becom-
ing larger every year and at this time the mag-
nitude of his trade will compare favorably with
that of any other merchant in the county out-
side the more populous centers.
Air. Pfatlzgraff possesses supreme financial
ability and has seldom if ever made any but for-
tunate investments. He owns fine town property,
improved and well cared for, and in addition
tliereto has purchased from time to time valuable
farm lands in dififerent parts of the county, in-
cluding the Henry Tjark place of eighty acres
and a quarter section in Jefferson township, half
of which is in cultivation. He leases the latter
tract, but cultivates his eighty-acre farm, raising
large crops of wheat, oats and corn, besides de-
voting considerable attention to live stock, spe-
cially to a fine grade of hogs, in the raising of
which he has-been quite successful and the pro-
ceeds from which add very materially to his in-
come. Mr. Pfatlzgraff has been postmaster at
Loretta for over twelve years and manages the
office with the same care and consideration mani-
fested in his individual business affairs. He
maintains an abiding interest in the growth and
development of the town, encouraging all meas-
ures for the general good of the community and
welfare of the people.
Politically he wields a potent influence for
the Republican party, the principles of which he
has advocated ever since old enough to exercise
the right of ballot, and fraternally holds member-
ship with the Odd Fellows lodge in Dumont,
Iowa. He has profound religious convictions
and is a firm believer in the truths of the German
Lutheran church, with which he has been iden-
tified since childhood.
The married life of Mr. Pfatlzgraff' dates from
1870, in September of which year he was wedded
to Aliss .\nna Aliller, of Dumont. Iowa, who has
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
1 183
borne him two children, a daughter by the name
of Dora M. and a son, George W., both of whom
reside under the parental roof.
LAWRENCE H. WILLRODT, one of the
most prominent and successful farmers and stock
growers of Brule county, is a native of the prov-
ince of Schleswig, Germany, where he was born
on the 17th of May, 1845. He received a good
education in his native land, where he prepared
himself for the pedagogic profession, and after
coming to the United States he completed a
course in a commercial college at Davenport,
Iowa. At the age of twenty-two years he emi-
grated to America and took up his residence in
the city of Davenport, Iowa, where he taught a
German-American school about five years, being
very successful in his efforts. He then opened a
book and stationery store in that city, continuing
in this line of enterprise nearlv a decade, at the
expiration of which, in 1880. he came to what
is now Brule county. South Dakota, where he
entered homestead and timber claims, while later
he purchased one and one-half sections additional,
having at the present time a fine estate of twelve
hundred and eighty acres, of which about three
hundred and twenty acres are maintained under
a high state of cultivation, while the balance is
devoted to the raising of hay and to grazing
purposes, as our subject gives special attention
10 the raising of high-grade live stock, conduct-
ing operations on a quite extensive scale. He has
shown marked taste and discrimination in the
improvement of his farm, and has one of the
finest residences in this section, the house and
incidental improvements about the same repre-
senting an expenditure of about six thousand
dollars.
On the 1st of April. 1871, Mr. Willrodt was
united in marriage to Miss Mary P. Wagner,
who was born and reared in the city of St. Louis.
Missouri, she being a niece of ETon. John F.
Darby, who was a member of congress from
Missouri for a number of years and one of
the most eminent members of the bar of St.
Louis, while he was also one of the Icadinar bank-
ers of Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Willrodt are
the parents of three children, namely : Clara L.,
who is the wife of John O. Anderson, a prom-
inent stock raiser of Lyman county, this state ;
and L. Henry and Laura A., who remain at the
parental home, the latter being a student in the
high school at Chamberlain.
In his political adherency Mr. Willrodt is
stanchly arrayed in support of the principles of
the Democratic party and he has long been known
as one of its wheelhorses in this section of the
state, attending the various conventions as a dele-
gate and being an influential factor in the party
councils. In 1901 he was elected a representa-
tive of Brule county in the state senate, this be-
ing the second general assembly of the state and
one whose work tended to make history rapidly
for the new commonwealth. He served with abil-
ity and his course was such as to gain him un-
qualified endorsement on the part of his con-
stituents. He is identified with the Legion of
Honor in Iowa, of which he became a membei
in 1879.
WELLINGTON J. M.'VYTUM. M. D., is
engaged in the practice of his profession in the
city of Alexandria, Hanson county, and is known
as an able and successful ph^-sician and surgeon.
He is a native of the state of New York, having
been born in Penn Yan, Cayuga county, on the
nth of December, 1864, and being a son of
Charles and Emma Maytum. When he was
five years of age his parents removed to Wayne
count}', Iowa, where his father engaged in mill-
mg, and there the Doctor secured his earlv edu-
cational discipline in the public schools, being
graduated in the high school at Humeston, as a
member of the class of 1885. In 1888 he was
matriculated in the medical department of the
state university of Iowa, at Iowa City, where he
completed a thorough technical course and was
graduated in 1891, receiving his degree of Doc-
tor of Medicine. Shortly after his graduation
the Doctor came to South Dakota and took up
his residence in Alexandria, where he has since
been actively engaged in the practice of his
ii84
HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
profession, the marked success and prestige which
have attended his efforts standing- as the best
voucher for his ability and earnest devotion to
the exacting duties of his chosen vocation. In
1896 he took a post-graduate course in the Chi-
cago PoIycHnic, and in 1900 he again took a
course of special study in this well-known insti-
tution, from which it is evident that he at all
times keeps in touch with the advances made
in the sciences of medicine and surgery. The
Doctor is a member of the South Dakota State
Medical Society, and was for six years secretary
and treasurer of the same. In 1894 he was elected
to the office of superintendent of schools of Han-
son county, and in the connection did much to
systematize and vitalize the work of education
in his jurisdiction, holding the position for two
years and making an enviable record. He is
a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and
takes a lively interest in public affairs of a local
nature. Fraternally he is identified with the
Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Work-
men, the Modern Woodmen of America, the
?\Iodern Brotherhood of America and the Yeo-
men. He is a skilled and successful physician,
a loyal citizen and a man who commands unqual-
ified confidence and esteem in the community in
which he has lived and labored to so goodly ends.
On the 18th of November, 1895, ^^- May-
tuni was united in marriage to Miss Lillie May
Svferd, who was born and reared in Wayne
county. Iowa, being a daughter of John and Eliza
Syferd, while she was a resident of Warsaw,
Iowa, at the time of her marriage. Of this union
have been born five children, namely: Charles K.,
Genevieve, Cecil, Thelma and Crvstal.
HARRIS FRANKLIN. — The qualities
which command the largest measure of material
success in human affairs are a clearness of un-
derstanding that brings into definite view from
the beginning the end desired and the most
available means of reacliing it ; a force of will
tireless in its persistency : and a quickness of de-
cision that instantly utilizes the commanding
points in any case. In the ratio in which they
possess these qual 
TVNews
OpenLibrary